"This is war and politics." She muttered. "For better or for worse."
"In good times and bad." Coran finished for her.
Epilogue
Orion sat at the café table, sipping his coffee. Lucius hadn't turned up anything yet on Tegan, and the vampire got more irritable by the night. Coran and Renee returned from their honeymoon, but Renee was still heartbroken about Tegan not having been found yet. Orion’s failure stung his own heart, knowing he could have kept the demons from her. Who knew what the cruel creatures were doing to her.
"Orion, right?"
He glanced up when a blond female sat in front of him. "What do you want?"
"I'm Danielle, I'm...well, was Renee's roommate."
The name struck a cord with him. "You were the Hunter partnered with Cody."
"Until he had his mark stripped and was kicked out of the Society, yeah. Leave it to me to be partnered with a dumbass." Her cheerful face fell. "I need to talk to you about something."
Orion put his coffee down and met her gaze. "What about?"
"I need your help. The Hunting Society needs your help—"
"My plate is full." Why would he help the Society, he was neither human nor vampire. As far as he knew they had nothing to do with Fae. He needed to focus on any clues that would lead him to Tegan.
She glared at him. "I know who you are, Orion, what you are. Not to mention you have ties to Lucius, and right now I need those. I need any information and help I can get on the vampires in this area."
"Why?" He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "And why should I help you?"
Dani smirked and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "If you help me figure out why there has been an increase in human vampire victims in the last month, I can give you information on the crown that you lost."
His anger surged and he clenched his fists. "The Queen of Blood and Darkness banished me long ago, no one can help me with that. She shredded my wings to make sure I could never return."
"What do you have to lose by helping me out? If the victims continue to grow in numbers it will be Lucius that is blamed. I know for a fact that his territory cannot take that right now."
Orion's eyes snapped to hers. "What goes on in Lucius' territory is none of your concern."
"It is if people are showing up dead and drained of blood, Orion. Is your master to blame?"
Hell if he knew. Without Tegan here, Lucius seemed more like a time bomb than a vampire, but he doubted Lucius would kill his meals. "He's not my master."
"Please, Orion, I don't have anyone else I can turn to. I don’t want to involve Renee more than I have to. Of course no one in the bars is going to talk to me. I don't blend in well."
Wasn't that the truth? His eyes wandered over her tight black clothes, and the gun barely visible from under her lightweight black jacket. "You say you have information in regards to my rightful place." If Lucius couldn't rescue Tegan, or if she came back wounded, maybe Dani was the key to going home. His true home.
"I do, and once we get this figured out I'll give you the information."
He snorted. "That's a little like blackmail."
"Yeah, kind of. What do you say?"
Playing with his coffee cup, he tried to figure out how much trouble he'd be in if Lucius found out he was making a deal with a Hunter. He grinned. "I'm in."
On Torn Wings
DWC #3
Chapter One
Orion rolled over as his phone rang. The ear splitting noise made him want to throw the thing out the window, but it wasn't the poor electronics fault he'd had a long night. No, he blamed Lucius and the demons that had dragged Tegan off. The number scrolling across the screen didn’t register at first, but then he realized it was the Hunter's. Dani...two months ago she’d asked for his help, since then she hadn't contacted him. Why now?
"What?" He snapped into the receiver.
"Sounds like someone had a long night." Her voice was chiding and he closed his eyes, trying to recall Danielle’s blond hair and big blue eyes, but instead conjuring an image of Tegan.
He muttered a curse under his breath at the thought of her still missing. "I was out until dawn trying to track down Tegan."
"Ah yes, the goose chase that Lucius has you on." She clicked her tongue, but then the teasing tone left. "We found a kill from last night. I'd like you to come down and take a look so you know what we're dealing with."
Orion sat up and rubbed his eyes. "Two months, Danielle." His gaze traveled over the white room that held only a bookshelf, dresser and a bed felt like home to him. With all his stuff neatly put away there was no clutter to distract him from sleep. Clean room, clear mind.It was one of the mantras that ket him sane.
"Yeah, well, shit's been busy on the Hunter side of things, and if you don't want us busting into Lucius' manor or questioning his people then I need you to get your ass downtown to Acacia Park."
Orion wrinkled his nose as he thought about the park. During the day it was filled with children, and most nights the homeless used the fountain to bathe. It wasn't his ideal place, and it wouldn't be the first place he'd dump a body. "Okay, I can be there in about fifteen minutes. I'm close, but I need coffee."
"Pick me up a latte?" Her voice was pleading; the Hunter had probably been out all night too.
He laughed. "Sure thing." Closing his phone, he leaned against the wall behind his bed and sighed. More than the need for caffeine drove his frequent trips to the coffee shop; the place had been Tegan's last stop before she turned in for the day. A routine she had kept for years. Part of him hoped she'd just randomly appear there. Shaking his head from his foolishness he untangled himself from the sheets. Orion showered, dressed, and left.
Traffic was light and the line short at the coffee place. He ordered two coffees before returning to his car. He slowly drove around the building by the cafe tables, studying the people sitting there. Only one man stood out to him-dirty blonde hair, sharp eyes. The man might have been drinking coffee, but he was aware of everything going on around him. There was something familiar about the man, but Orion couldn’t put his finger on it. Pulling out into traffic, Orion sighed. "Tegan, where are you?"
Of course, no one really knew. Lucius was convinced she was in the Demon realm and his temper became worse every night. No one liked him when he was on edge. Hell, if anyone liked him otherwise it was questionable. Times like this he wondered why he had joined the vampire. "’Cause I'm fucking nuts, he saved my life, and I fell for his human."
He tried not to dwell on it as he pulled up to the park downtown. The emergency vehicles weren't hard to miss, but it was the big black panel van with the strange 'H' design on the side of it that he couldn't take his eyes off of. The Hunters were starting to become more prominent in human society and it made him wonder how much progress Lucius had made in replacing politicians with friendly supernaturals. The human government had always fought against the Hunters, but now it seemed they were embracing them. Or maybe he just needed to get out more often.
He parked and approached the scene, stopping at the crime tape. He raised a brow when an officer approached him, daring her to challenge why he was here. His gaze scanning the crowd, he searched for the tall Hunter that would get him in. He spotted her weaving her way through the uniforms. She was dressed head to toe in black, with an armband bearing the same 'H' that was on the van. He knew because of tradition she also had one tattooed on her shoulder. She flashed the officer a badge before the woman had a chance to say anything.
The woman grumbled and walked off. Danielle grinned when Orion handed her coffee. "’Bout time, I was worried you weren't going to show."
"Traffic sucked." He ducked under the crime tape that she lifted with her free hand. "There's a lot more humans here than I expected. The way Mae talks about her old job made it seem like the police hate to admit the existence of supernatural crimes." He didn't make a habit of talking to Mae because she lived at Lucius' manor and worked at The Disappearing Act, whic
h was the only place Orion ran into the fledgling.
She snorted. "You have no idea, but Mae must not have been a Hunter, we have privileges. The police don’t like us, but we have privileges." She motioned for him to follow.
Dani watched as Orion passed her and went straight for the black body bag sitting on the gurney. The medical examiner unzipped it and Dani stepped up to Orion's side. "Look at the neck, this is our fourth victim like this. We have no witnesses and no ID."
Orion summoned a pair of gloves and Dani ignored the gasp of the ME. Orion put them on and pushed back the young woman’s hair, his finger tracing the bite marks. His brow creased as he retraced it and leaned in closer. Dani had found the wound strange too. It looked more like a young vampire attack, all teeth instead of the neat prick marks of fangs. The skin flopped to the side, torn and red from the spilled blood.
"This isn't vampire." He sounded so sure when he pulled away.
Dani shook her head. Maybe it was a mistake to bring him along, he'd probably protect Lucius to the grave. "There's nothing else I know of that drains blood like this and leaves such a mess. Either they are rogue or new."
"There's no new or rogue vampires in the territory." He glanced back over the body. "I've seen this kind of bite before, but I can't place it. It’s been a really long time."
She didn't like the sound of that, but it at least gave her a little bit more to go on. If it was a vampire it was one Lucius didn't know about, unless Orion was lying to her. "How is Lucius' temperament?"
"You really think he could do this?" Orion growled. "Lucius has control over his blood lust, and despite the chaos in his territory right now, he wouldn't do this. He knows the risks."
Dani raised a brow and crossed her arms. Orion's chestnut hair ruffled in the breeze and she swore his eyes shifted to a strange color of purple when he snapped at her. She loved the fact that despite her height, she still had to tilt her head up a bit to meet his gaze. His muscles tensed after he finished his outburst and he cursed. "So what are the risks? Other than the Hunters coming after him."
"It would draw the Circle here. Under their laws it's illegal to kill a free human unless they have threatened you."
Her stomach churned. "A free human?"
"Old wording, now there's nothing but free humans and the blood-bonded, like Tegan. Blood-bonded are supposed to be the most precious and cherished humans. It's a death penalty if you kill one, or have intent to kill."
Right, precious and cherished. What a load of bull. "I don't know much about the old laws of vampires, there's not a lot in our library about them, but I do know that the Circle bends more rules than it upholds." She dropped her arms. "But the phrase 'free human' makes it sound like they used to have breeding houses or dedicated slaves."
Orion closed his eyes and nodded. "That's exactly what it was. It wasn't a pretty sight either and I'm glad that's something the Originals put a stop to."
"Disgusting." Dani spat. The idea that vampires kept people as slaves only increased her hatred towards them. Not like she needed another reason to condemn the blood suckers. She clicked her tongue. "So you're sure it's not vampire?"
"Positive. You won't be hunting one of Lucius' people if that's what you were hoping for." He took the gloves off. "Besides, if it was one of Lucius' vampires, he'd have killed them by now." Orion shrugged. "I'll try to remember where I've seen that kind of bite before, but if it was long ago it might take me some time." A haunted look passed through his eyes.
She frowned at the urge to brush a hand over his cheek to soothe that look away. "Let me know as soon as you can, it's hard to hunt something I don't know about."
"Are you the only Hunter on this case?"
She nodded. "I haven't been assigned a new partner yet. Why?"
"Let's just say I don't want to associate with too many of you. Lucius doesn't know that I'm working with you."
She raised a brow. She'd pegged him as the loyal until death type. "You haven't told him? He's going to murder you when he finds out. I can't protect you from that."
Orion shook his head. "He won't murder me. Punish, yes, but he'll need me when Tegan comes back."
"You sound so sure of yourself." She snorted. "You have a hell of a dedication to that girl."
"She’s no mere girl." He started to walk off. "I'll call you if I remember, let me know when you need me again." He gave her a little wave as he disappeared into the crowd of gathering gawkers. He made torn jeans and t-shirts look sexier than most and he was mouth-watering even when frowning. Dani shook her head and turned back to the task at hand. It had to be part of his Fae charm; his parents both thrived from sexual energy, why would he be any different?
Dani walked into headquarters with a huff. She needed to check something in the library, she hadn't thought to check the bite marks against other creatures in the Hunter archived research. Asking... well, blackmailing Orion into helping her was her only viable option to get into Lucius' circle. Just her luck that she happened to pick the bound human’s bodyguard. Orion would be on edge and more likely to let something slip because of spreading himself so thin while looking for Tegan. It might have been easier to contact Renee about it, but she couldn't risk Lucius sensing any connection and he'd be able to read Renee with her lack of experience hiding information from him. If the vampire was really bad off without Tegan, she didn't want to risk his anger coming down on Renee either.
She walked into the huge two-story room that served as the library; its curved staircase led up to the second level and came back down on the other side of the overlook. Tables covered the bottom level, some with stacks of books and others clean. An occasional student or Hunter dotted the room, poring over books. The top level was wall-to-wall and floor-to-celling bookshelves filled to the brim with books on every subject. She hoped she could find one on bites. If it wasn't a vampire then that left very few options, though she couldn't shake the feeling that Orion was lying in order to protect Lucius. Maybe she should speak to the vampire alone, or ask Coran. Certainly he wouldn't allow Renee to be in such danger, with them being mates and all.
With a growl, she climbed the stairs and started to browse through the books. The Hunters really needed to get everything on a database, it would make her life easier. She ran her hands over titles, ignoring the ones too worn to read and continuing on to the ones she could read. There had to be something there.
"Check the documents from the 1500's." A male voice made her jump.
She spun around and put a hand to her chest, trying to calm her pounding heart. "Don't you know better than to sneak up on me?" She glared at the Master Hunter who stood in front of her.
He grinned and stuck his hands in his pockets. His dirty blond hair was slightly spiked, keeping it out of his grey eyes. Older than her by at least twenty years, she was sure he dyed his hair, but the little lines by his eyes weren't as easy to hide.
Joey Curry. He taught a few classes at headquarters and occasionally went out in the field. Rumors about him said he was a telepath, but no one had confirmed that because no one was willing to say it out loud. "Possibly, but it's so much fun to see you jump."
"1500's? What would that have to do with my vampire victim?"
"Seems to me that you're double checking something and if it has to do with the current fiasco, I would start there. The Hunters back then knew much more than we do."
"That's before the American Hunters were established." She frowned. It wasn't often that the older documents had anything relevant to today’s Hunters. "Why would we have documents from them?"
"We have records, they are incomplete, but much of the research is still there." He shrugged. "I heard that the Elder Masters have you on another mission."
She studied him; she hadn't told anyone but Cody. "It's a wild goose chase, they seem to think that the Originals exist and that one is resting here in Colorado. They have me looking at old graveyards, taking pictures, doing research."
"You don't believe in the Origina
ls?"
She clicked her tongue as she thought. Orion had mentioned them, but it could have been a lie he'd been fed too. She didn't believe he was old enough to remember them. "I believe every myth starts with truth, but I don't believe the Originals are super powerful all-ruling vampires, nor do I believe that the Father exists. At all. Just a myth to spook us."
"You may be right, but why would they want you to look into it if it wasn't true?" Joey ran his hand across some of the books and pulled one out. "This one here describes attacks similar to what you are dealing with. I don't remember if they name the creature or not, but it'll be worth a look."
She took the book from him. It was rare for someone to suggest asking questions about a mission. More often than not the Elites were told to do as demanded. She never thought to question why she was looking for something she really didn't believe in. "Joey, what happens if the Father and the Originals do exist?"
"The question you should ask is, 'what happens if the Father makes an appearance." He shivered. "We don't want to find out, Dani. It means that the vampires we hunt can take over. And I'm not talking about vampires like Lucius who abide by the ancient laws, but ones that we have all dealt with, the ones that have no regard for human life."
Like the ones Orion had mentioned. She swallowed at the thought and wondered if maybe there could be truth to what he'd said. "I'll have to think on that later, right now I have a creature to hunt down and my informant is convinced it's not a vampire." One thing at a time. As a Hunter she knew there were other things out there, not just vampires, but it didn't mean she had to like it.
"You have an informant, and here I didn't think you'd want to work with a new partner." Joey chuckled. "Enjoy the book, it should be full of some great information. Be careful with your informant." He walked away and she stared down at the book in her hand. Could Joey really know what was going through her mind? What else could the Master Hunter know and help her with? He seemed to keep his own secrets well, but could she trust him with how much she knew about Lucius' territory? Could he come to her aid if she needed someone to back her up?
Dark War Chronicles Box Set One Page 32
