Eternal Craving

by Nina Bangs

  Everyone’s eyes looked glazed for a moment until Fin caught their attention. He held out his hand to them, and nestled in his palm was a small glowing ball of light.

  “Touch your brother one last time before I send him on his journey.”

  First Utah and then Tor reached out and stroked a gentle finger over the light. It shimmered, growing brighter at their touch and then dimming.

  Suddenly Al knew he had to say good-bye too. He’d thought he felt no kinship with any of the Eleven, but he was wrong. Friendship was a funny thing. He hadn’t known it was there until it was gone.

  He reached out and touched the light. All that Rap was flowed through Al—his laughter, his temper, his love of Philly cheesesteaks. And his tormented need to return to his brothers. Al made a promise that he’d see Rap’s need fulfilled and let it flow back into the light.

  Then a real shock. Her hand shaking, Jenna touched Rap’s soul. Tears streamed down her face. She spoke her words aloud. “I’ll buy earmuffs for you so you won’t be cold when you get back.” Her eyes widened. She slowly removed her finger and stared at Al. “He said he’d hold me to that.”

  A smile touched Fin’s eyes, and the purple faded a little. Then his gaze grew distant, and Al knew Fin was somewhere else. “I send you to your place of safety, Rap Endeka. May time treat you gently, and may your sleep be peaceful.” The light winked out.

  Al frowned. Those words didn’t sound like Rap would be rejoining them anytime soon.

  Jenna broke the silence. “Why hasn’t anyone called the police? People have to have heard or seen something.”

  “Whoever planned this wove a spell that repelled humans from wandering into the area. Didn’t any of you feel it?” Fin’s eyes had returned to their usual silver.

  Utah and Tor seemed unable or unwilling to talk. Al didn’t blame them. “I didn’t like the feeling of the place, but I thought I was just being overly cautious.” He frowned. “Jenna didn’t feel anything.” He glanced at her for confirmation.

  Jenna shook her head. “I was so miserable from the cold, I would’ve chalked up any bad feelings to that.” She glanced out at the dark street. “But I did notice there weren’t any people or cars around.”

  “Where did you send him?” Utah’s voice was hoarse; his breathing sounded loud in the stillness of the room.

  “There’s a place beneath Sedona in Arizona where he’ll rest until I can call him forth again.”

  Al broached the unthinkable. “And if you don’t survive Zero’s attack?”

  Fin didn’t look upset by the question, but then Fin never looked upset. Except for a few minutes ago. Rap’s death had gotten to him.

  “If I don’t survive, then Rap will sleep for eternity.” Fin didn’t give any of them a chance to think about the finality of that statement. “I’ve contacted Shen. We’re lucky that everyone on his cleanup crew has magic skills. By morning when the spell fades, all that’ll be left is a burned-out building. No bodies will be found. No one will remember seeing how the fire started.”

  “They were vampires.”

  Tor’s voice was almost a whisper, but Al had never heard so much hate packed into such a quiet tone.

  “They were fucking vampires, and I’m going to make sure all the bloodsuckers in Philly find their final deaths before I’m done.” If Tor had his way, Philly would lose its title as the City of Brotherly Love.

  Fin moved toward the rear of the restaurant. “Let’s go out the back. I don’t sense anything out front, but I don’t know if Zero’s in town yet. I’d have trouble picking him up if he wanted to hide his presence. And I don’t want to face him until I’m ready.” He didn’t look at them as he stood in the shadowed alley behind the restaurant. “We’ll meet back at my condo. I’ve called in all of the Eleven.”

  “We’re not eleven anymore.” Al didn’t know why he had to voice the obvious, but it seemed important. Fin had always made a big deal about the number eleven. It was a master number. It was their number of power. He wondered what power the number ten had going for it?

  Suddenly, Fin’s expression looked unutterably sad, but Al thought that might just be a trick of the shadows slanting across his leader’s face.

  “Perhaps. Perhaps not.” Fin stared into the darkness as though he saw something none of the others could see. “There’s one who stays close, who might…” He shook his head. “But I don’t know. Not yet.”

  What the hell was that about? As Al guided Jenna to their car, he thought about Fin’s words. The Eleven didn’t know anything about Fin or each other. Except for the raptors, none of them had physically met in that past life. Kind of weird.

  He had lots of time to think on the way back to Ritten-house Square because Utah and Tor sat in the backseat, frozen in their silent agony. Jenna remained quiet too. He wished she hadn’t seen any of this. She should’ve stayed in Houston.

  But then you never would’ve known her. A selfish part of him, the part that answered to his predatory soul, thought he was damn glad she was here and had every intention of sating his sexual hunger with her. His soul’s savage need drowned out any softer thoughts.

  That was good, because sex was all they could ever share. What woman would ever accept what he’d been, what he was, what he would always be? Kelly accepted Ty. Al pushed that truth away. Ty was a nicer guy than he was.

  Once back in the condo, Al, Jenna, and the two remaining triplets gathered around the dining room table in silence. Fin sat at its head. Shen solemnly placed eleven candles on the table, lit ten of them, and then turned off the lights.

  The flickering flames cast shadows across their faces, changing them in subtle ways. As Al glanced around at those he thought he knew, he realized he didn’t know them at all. Not really. Familiar and yet unfamiliar. An unsettling revelation.

  Slowly, other members of the Eleven arrived to join them.

  Al didn’t question the fact that Jenna and Kelly were at the table with them. Surprisingly, Jenna didn’t get up to sit with her sister when Ty and Kelly arrived. She remained beside him. And something that felt a lot like satisfaction touched him.

  Shen offered to serve coffee, but no one took him up on it. Finally, everyone had arrived. Utah and Tor sat together as they always had, but they’d left an empty chair between them.

  Fin stood. “We have lost one of us to night. We will mourn him now.”

  The men rose as one. Then all except Fin opened their mouths and roared their pain, their sorrow, their anger. And it wasn’t their human voices that emerged. It was the voices of their souls, sounds from a primal past they’d once ruled. The room shook with the sound and fury of that emotion.

  Finally, Fin joined them. His voice rose above them all, and it was like nothing Earth had ever heard. It carried beyond that room, that building. A night that a few minutes before was cold and clear suddenly lit with zigzag flashes of lightning. The whole building shook with the booming cracks of thunder. It went on and on, and then it stopped.

  Everyone sat except for Fin.

  The silence was a deep well of despair, and Al knew they’d all have to make the climb out of it to continue their pursuit of Eight. To say they were motivated now was a gross understatement.

  The despair was so human it scared him. And it had come from their souls, the ones that shouldn’t feel this kind of emotion. Could souls change, become something else? He shook his head to clear away the question. He didn’t know, didn’t want to think about it now.

  Al looked at Jenna. Her face was bleached white in the dim light, her eyes wide and staring. But it wasn’t fear he saw in those eyes. It was the sorrow they all felt. And he wanted to enfold her in his arms and hold on.

  He didn’t. His soul wouldn’t let him. Even as he mourned for Rap, his soul roared for blood, for death, for destruction. He beat it back into its cave, but Al knew it wouldn’t stay there long.

  Fin still stood at the head of the table, calm now. Nothing remained visible of the being that had cried out h
is grief for Rap. “I’ve asked Jude to come to night.”

  “No.” Utah half rose from his seat. “I don’t want any fucking vampire here after what they did to Rap.”

  “This isn’t your decision. We need to know what happened. Jude proved his loyalty in Houston. We need a friend in Philadelphia’s vampire community.” Fin was once more in his cold, calm, and commanding mode.

  “Should I stay?” Jenna’s voice was strung tight with tension.

  “Do you want to stay?” Al tried not to let his expression influence her.

  “Yes.”

  Al nodded. “Then stay.” He marveled at the rush of pride he felt in her. She wasn’t his, so why all the emotion? Sex was one thing, other feelings weren’t part of the deal. Besides, Jenna wouldn’t want his touch after seeing what he was capable of. Tonight she’d let him close because she’d been terrified. Tomorrow everything would be back to normal.

  Jenna watched Al watch her. She couldn’t read anything in his expression. But he was there beside her, and for whatever it was worth, that’s where she wanted him to be.

  She glanced over at her sister. Kelly met her gaze and offered her sister a tremulous smile. This sudden death had to be a lot harder on Kelly. She’d known Rap longer than Jenna had. At least Kelly had Ty to share her sorrow with. Jenna was glad for that.

  Shen came in and whispered to Fin. Fin nodded and then sat down. “Jude is on his way up. He’s being careful to night. He has bodyguards with him.”

  A low rumbling growl spread around the table.

  Fin shook his head. “He’s not stupid. What happened tonight has to have sent shock waves around the paranormal community. The humans may be blissfully ignorant, but our nonhuman friends aren’t. And the outcome of our battle will affect all of them.” He leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed and nonthreatening. “I don’t want anyone causing trouble, no matter what your soul tells you.” He cast Utah, Tor, and Al hard glances.

  Jenna heard the door to the condo open. Evidently Shen was also playing doorman to night. And then Jude and five other male vampires strode into the dining room.

  Just as it had the first time, Jude’s beauty took her breath away. He’d dressed for effect to night. Leather pants, a black silk shirt open halfway down his chest, and knee-high boots. With his pale perfection, darkly wicked eyes, and flowing black hair, he would be every woman’s evil pleasure.

  Except for her. That surprised Jenna. She cast a quick glance at the man beside her. Where Jude’s threat was hidden beneath smooth temptation, Al’s was upfront and in your face.

  His was a harsh and unforgiving face with eyes that said, “Danger, run like hell.” Al’s raw sensuality called to the primal need in every woman. The need that wanted a man to rip her clothes from her body and drive into her until she writhed, screamed, and tore bloody furrows in his sweat-sheened back with her nails.

  Startled by her thoughts, Jenna quickly shifted her gaze away.

  Fin didn’t rise, but he did smile. Who knew what that smile meant? It could mean, “Welcome to my home, I’m really glad to see you,” or it could mean, “I’m glad you could make it because I was getting tired of waiting to kill you.”

  Jude seemed to feel the same way, because he paused in the doorway. “You invited me here tonight. I assume I’m here as a trusted friend.” His men crowded around him.

  Fin’s smile widened. “Friend, yes. Trusted? Not too sure of that.” He motioned toward the empty chair to his right. “But I’m not harboring murderous intentions toward you.” The word “yet” hung in the air.

  The vampire nodded at his men. They fanned out around the room, ready to rush into action if anyone threatened their leader.

  Then Jude approached the table. He eyed the seat Fin had offered him before dropping into the one at the far end of the table.

  Fin shook his head. “I can reach you as easily there as here.”

  Jude shrugged, the motion accentuating his broad shoulders. “Indulge me. Distance gives the impression of safety.”

  Fin nodded. “Vampires killed one of the Eleven to night.”

  Wow, Fin didn’t beat around the bush. Jenna watched Jude’s reaction. Which was none at all. He’d known about Rap before he came here.

  “I’m sorry.” Jude was lobbing the ball back into Fin’s court.

  “Remind me again why you’re here in Philadelphia when Pennsylvania isn’t one of the states you have authority over.” Fin tapped his finger on the table in a slow, deliberate beat.

  Jenna caught herself following the up-and-down motion of that finger, getting caught in its even pacing, wondering if Fin’s thoughts were quite as calm and ordered.

  “If anything happens, I’ll get you out of here.” Al’s whisper fanned the sensitive skin behind her ear. Prickles of awareness spread from there. Or maybe the prickles were fear, because Jenna couldn’t even begin to imagine what would happen if the polite conversation exploded into violence. She thought about the restaurant. Maybe she could.

  “Perhaps I felt a need to offer my help to the vampire queen of Philadelphia. After all, I had an inside view of what happened in Houston.” Jude never took his attention from Fin.

  Smart vampire. Jenna probably would’ve held this conversation by phone.

  Fin nodded. “I’ve got a short memory. How did you know we were in Philadelphia?”

  This time Jude grinned. “I have people that work at the airports. You don’t fly out of Houston without me finding out. I run a tight organization.”

  “Vampire queen of Philadelphia?” A smile touched Fin’s cold eyes. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Afraid not. She became vampire when the word royalty meant something. Katherine oversees a ten-state area just as I do, but she thinks of Philly as her royal seat.”

  Fin nodded. “How much do you know about what happened to night?” His voice had lost its casualness. It cut the length of the table, slicing to the point of Jude’s visit.

  “I know a group of Katherine’s vampires laid the trap. Evidently Eight paid them well. She wasn’t part of the plot.”

  Utah growled low in his throat. Fin ignored the sound.

  “How do you know she wasn’t part of the plot?”

  “Katherine is…Katherine. She says what she thinks, and she doesn’t care who she insults. If she’d planned the ambush, she would’ve been damn proud of it.”

  “I need information from Katherine.”

  “And if she doesn’t want to talk to you?”

  Jude’s temper was rising. Jenna couldn’t miss the glowing eyes and the slight lift of his lip to expose fang.

  “Then we start pulling in vampires and doing our own brand of investigating.”

  “You’re a cold son of a bitch.”

  Fin actually smiled at that. “See, I knew if I waited long enough you’d say something nice about me.”

  “You’ll have to go to her.” Jude looked downright scary. Unlike Fin, he wasn’t amused.

  “Not really. I think I’ll send my representative.” Fin scanned the table. He stopped at Al. “Tell Her Majesty that Al Endeka, my personal rep, will meet with her.”

  Jude simply nodded. Then he rose from the table, waved his guards to him, and left the room.

  “That went well, don’t you think?” Fin didn’t wait for anyone to voice an opinion. “No, neither of you can go. I couldn’t trust you to control your beasts around the vampires.” He aimed his comment at Utah and Tor.

  “And you can trust me?” Al sounded incredulous.

  “I’m trying, Al. I’m really trying. You listened to your gut to night and didn’t go into that restaurant. That’s a point in your favor.” Fin motioned to Greer, who’d been standing by the kitchen door. “I think I need some coffee now. How about the rest of you?”

  A half hour later, Jenna was awash in caffeine and full from stuffing herself with the sandwiches Greer had made for all of them. The sandwiches made her think of the cheesesteak she hadn’t gotten. And that of cour
se reminded her of Rap. It was time for this day to be over.

  Fin had spent the time going over ideas for finding Eight. So far they knew he was smarter than Nine had been. They also knew he went in for big splashy parties. Bloody ones. There was nothing subtle about Eight. What they didn’t know was where to find him.

  Jenna was just about to give up and excuse herself from the table—after all, she wasn’t going to be the one to engage Eight in hand-to-hand combat—when Fin banished thoughts of sleep.

  “Wherever you go from now on, make note of any unusual bells you see. The ringing of a bell will send Eight back home, but that doesn’t help us if we can’t figure out which bell.”

  Suddenly everything clicked into place. And she wished it hadn’t. Fin saying he’d seen her in one of his visions. Fin appointing Al as her personal protector. And now the bells.

  Her whole world cartwheeled, and when it finally came to rest, she wasn’t a tabloid writer anymore. She slowly rose from her seat. Gripping the edge of the table to keep from swaying, she faced Fin.

  “I’m your freaking bell-ringer, aren’t I?”

  Chapter Nine

  Oh, shit. Jenna looked ready to self-combust. Al placed his hand over hers. But he didn’t get a chance to say anything comforting—not that he had any practice at it anyway—because Kelly leaped to her feet.

  “No, you’re not putting my sister anywhere near that bastard Eight. She could’ve died to night. Jenna’s human. She can’t pull out a prehistoric soul to protect herself.” Kelly pointed a shaking finger at Fin. “If you need someone to ring a damn bell, then you ring it.”

  Ty reached up to calm his wife, but she slapped his hand away. “The Maloy family has already done its share to save humanity. Leave Jenna alone!” Then her eyes widened. “You had your visions millions of years ago, so you knew about Jenna back in Houston…You never said anything to me.”

  Jenna slowly sank back into her seat, her eyes fixed on her sister.

  Kelly was just getting started. “You knew she’d show up here to check on me.” She pushed away from the table so hard her chair toppled over with a clatter that sounded extra loud in the silent room. “You manipulative jerk! I don’t care how powerful you are, you’re worthless as a human being.” Kelly ended on a watery gulp. Her last words before she stormed out were aimed at Jenna. “You get on the first plane out of here.” And then she was gone. Ty rose and followed her. He didn’t ask Fin for permission to leave.