Eternal Prey

by Nina Bangs

  “Can’t you ignore the visions? Free will and all that stuff?” She was desperate.

  Fin just stared at her.

  “Right. No cheating.” Her gaze skipped around the room, searching for an escape. “At least did your vision show me making a triumphant exit from all this?” With Utah’s arms wrapped around me. Oh damn, she hadn’t meant that last thought. Had she?

  “I don’t see outcomes.”

  Then what good were his damn visions? Anything could go wrong. “What if I decide to walk away now?”

  “You won’t. The visions don’t lie. It will happen. The tough part will be finding whatever you were holding in your hand.” He shrugged. “Sorry. I don’t have any more information. But once we follow up on the tip Seir gave you last night, I want—”

  “Wait. You know about that?”

  He smiled. This time it was genuine. Lia decided that any woman could ride to glory on his smile. Well, except for her. She preferred Utah’s hard-edged smile.

  “I never sleep deeply. I sensed the moment he entered the building. Shen is handy with electronics. I’m hooked up to the building’s security cameras. I saw you meet him.”

  She nodded. “And you heard us through Utah’s mind.”

  “No. Actually, it was your mind. Utah was busy trying to block me just in case I was awake. I could’ve blasted through his block, but he would’ve known I was there.” His smile faded. “I’ve already spoken to him.”

  “Let me guess. He was ticked.”

  “A little.”

  “You could’ve just kept an eye on the cameras and not listened in if you were worried about our safety.”

  Fin didn’t bother shrugging. “You think I should’ve trusted him to tell me what happened? I didn’t notice him contacting me as soon as Seir called to him. Did I miss that part?”

  “No need for sarcasm.” Okay, so Fin was right about that.

  He leaned forward, but his gaze didn’t seem focused on her. “Listen to me, young one. Trust is usually misplaced. Trust no one, and live a long life.”

  Something about his voice had changed, taken on a cadence that didn’t sound natural. He was creeping her out. She could’ve asked the same questions of him that she’d asked of Seir. Who are you? What are you?

  “You’re not like the rest of the Eleven, are you? You were never a dinosaur romping across the prehistoric landscape.” That revelation wasn’t a shocker. It was a no-brainer. Anyone could see that Fin was different. “If I can see it so clearly, your men should too. But they don’t, do they?” She narrowed her eyes. “Because you’ve messed with their minds. What don’t you want them to know about you?”

  Lia regretted the questions the moment they left her lips. She swallowed hard and gripped the arms of her chair as his eyes bled purple.

  “Be careful.”

  He didn’t sound angry, but his eyes shone with emotion. She wished she could ID it.

  “I do what I think is best for all of us.”

  For all of us. Well, Lia recognized a god complex when she saw it.

  “Now, since I’m already . . . upset, do you have anything else to ask?”

  Purple still pushed out the silver in his eyes, but any hint of emotion was gone.

  A sudden thought gave her the courage to ask one more thing. He couldn’t eliminate her. She was in his vision. If he wanted to get Seven, he needed her. Unless he tears you apart in an uncontrolled rage. She pushed that possibility aside. Fin might get angry, but she couldn’t imagine him losing control.

  “Why won’t you at least meet with your brother? That’s all he wants, just to talk to you. I feel kind of sorry for him. After all, he’s still family.”

  For some reason, her comment amused him. He leaned back in his chair, and his eyes shone silver again. “Sometimes family is the most poisonous of all.”

  Katherine. He was right. Lia was the wrong person to lecture him on family.

  “Okay, so now I know you can bend minds into pretzels. Are you going to take away my memory of asking you these questions?” She had to know even if she forgot immediately afterward.

  “No.” For a moment he sounded almost weary. “Regardless of how powerful you seem to think I am, I can’t manipulate the minds of thousands. I’ll have to trust that you’re smart enough to remember what’s at stake. The survival of your species is more important than any minor concerns.”

  Warping men’s minds wasn’t minor. But she kept that thought to herself. She concentrated instead on breaking her toast into small bits and sipping her coffee.

  Thankfully, Utah and Kione showed up a few minutes later. Utah looked fierce and gorgeous and she wanted him more than . . . How had this happened so fast? A few days ago, she might’ve been crouched in an alley aiming at his head. Now her aim was a lot lower and didn’t involve a gun. She contemplated her toast, but it had no answer for her.

  Utah sat next to her. The soft fabric of his sweater slid over her arm. She shifted so that the contact remained. Talk about static cling.

  Kione sat down a few chairs away from everyone. He still had his cloak wrapped around him. Strange. It was warm in here. Hadn’t Utah offered to loan him something to wear?

  “Now that everyone’s here, we can talk about tonight.” Fin included all of them, but he was watching Kione.

  “Can’t we at least eat in peace?” Utah loaded up his plate with eggs and bacon.

  She started to mention the fat content of that plate but then shut her mouth. His cholesterol count wouldn’t kill him.

  “You can eat in peace on December 22.” Fin’s gaze never strayed from Kione.

  Lia glanced at the fae prince to make sure she hadn’t missed anything the first time she took a quick peek at him. Nope, looked the same. But then she realized he was sitting by himself. Lia didn’t know why, but his aloneness bothered her. Sighing, she beckoned to him. “Move over.”

  Kione didn’t respond for a moment, but finally, he moved to the chair next to hers. He made sure not to make eye contact. She appreciated the gesture.

  Fin smiled at Lia. “I spoke with your father. I assured him you hadn’t asked the first vampire you met to change you.”

  Lia was not amused. “Dad needs to stop checking on me.” Every time her father did something like that it reminded her of the insecure little girl who wasn’t brave enough or strong enough to make her mother love her. She hated the feeling.

  “He loves you.” Fin said it as though the power to love was a strange human disease he didn’t understand and definitely didn’t want to catch.

  If they’d been alone, Lia would have asked him if he’d ever loved anyone. Then she remembered his trust issues. Nah.

  Fin turned his attention back to the silent Kione. “Welcome, Kione. I’ve wanted to meet you. I’m sorry I missed you in Philadelphia.”

  Kione’s nod was strangely formal. “You were busy at the time.”

  Utah followed the conversation while making sure he didn’t look at Kione and trying not to think about Lia. He’d liked it a lot better when he’d believed the dark fairy’s power was driving his interest in her beautiful little bottom and full breasts. Now? He’d have to work harder to focus on his work. Last night had been a revelation. No one to blame but himself for the emotions he’d unleashed on her unsuspecting head and other body parts.

  “What brought you to Portland, Kione?” Fin glanced away from the fae prince as Greer pushed open the kitchen door. Fin motioned at him, and the chef disappeared back into the kitchen.

  Kione countered with a question of his own. “What are you? And don’t tell me you’re just one of the Eleven. Your power is . . . extraordinary.” He seemed unsettled by the knowledge.

  Utah thought that not much managed to unsettle the prince.

  Fin shrugged. “I am what I am. I don’t think it’s relevant to this discussion.”

  “Perhaps I don’t feel it necessary for you to know why I’m here.” Kione leaned back in his chair.

  Fin smiled,
the smile Utah knew meant he wouldn’t rip your head off right now, but he was keeping future options open.

  “You want me to play a guessing game?” Fin raised one brow. “I suppose I can do that.”

  Greer emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray. He unloaded a pot of fresh coffee and a plate of pastries onto the table.

  “This is Greer.” Fin didn’t seem to have any trouble meeting Kione’s gaze.

  But then Utah couldn’t imagine Fin feeling any kind of sexual compulsion. He was too controlled, too cold, too . . . Utah abandoned that line of thought. What his leader felt wasn’t Utah’s business.

  Greer offered each of them a tight nod and a piercing stare. Greer might look small and harmless, but Utah knew what lived in him. He’d bet on Greer in most fights.

  “Greer is Otherkin. His soul is tiger, but it’s trapped forever in his human body.” Fin watched Greer return to the kitchen before turning back to Kione. “But most of us are trapped in some way, aren’t we?”

  For just a moment, Utah had the feeling Fin was talking about himself. Crazy.

  Fin studied Kione. “I know Adam doesn’t have the power to command your obedience, so you’re here for some other reason.” He looked thoughtful. “It has something to do with Jude. He said ‘they’d’ be here in a few hours.”

  Kione’s gaze sharpened. “You were there?”

  Fin looked at Utah. “He was there. I heard through his mind.”

  The fae prince sent Utah a contemptuous glance. “You allow him to use you like that, raptor?”

  Utah didn’t give Fin a chance to answer. “ ‘Allow’ is the operative word. He’s my leader. There are things he needs to know.” The incident with Zero was still fresh in his mind.

  Fin leaned forward. “What did Jude mean by ‘they’?”

  “His five vampires.” Lia jumped into the conversation. “Their clan was attacked centuries ago. They were the only survivors. The clan was so feared that no one would claim them. If Jude hadn’t taken them in, the rest of the vampire world would’ve destroyed them.”

  Fin looked back at Kione. “What’s between you and these vampires?”

  For a moment, Utah thought Kione would refuse to answer. Finally, he exhaled deeply.

  “The fae forces of the unseelie court fought and destroyed their clan. I led those forces.”

  Kione calmly poured his coffee and then added so much sugar and cream that Utah figured it couldn’t possibly taste like coffee anymore.

  “And how did the vampires repay you?” Fin’s eyes gleamed with fascinated interest.

  Kione put his cup down. “Why do you want to know?”

  “You helped us back in Philadelphia. You could help us here. I take care of those who line up on our side.”

  “I don’t line up on anyone’s side unless it suits me.” Kione didn’t reach for his coffee again.

  Fin nodded. “I understand.” He waited a heartbeat. “Al told me about his meeting with you in Philadelphia. And about your . . . problem. Show me.”

  Utah looked at Lia. She shrugged.

  “Al talks too much.”

  Utah thought it would end there. So Kione surprised him when he pushed back his chair and stood. And without saying another word, he opened his cloak to expose his bare chest.

  What the hell? Every inch of Kione’s chest was covered with angry red welts. The damn things almost looked like they were pulsing, as though they had a life of their own.

  “What happened to you?” Lia’s voice was soft with sympathy, her eyes wide in horror.

  Kione pulled his cloak around him and sat back down. Everything about him, from his stiff back to his thinned lips, said, I don’t want your sympathy. Leave me alone.

  Kione kept his gaze averted from Lia. “The five surviving vampires cursed me for my part in the slaughter. I’ve carried the marks ever since.”

  “And now?” Fin looked thoughtful.

  “Jude will tell them I’m here. They’ll come for me.” Kione’s smile was the coldest thing Utah had ever seen. “And I’ll destroy them. Once they’ve all met their final death, the curse will be broken.”

  “Why didn’t you destroy them before this?” Fin never broke eye contact with Kione.

  How was he doing that? Just thinking about meeting the fae prince’s gaze made Utah want to do wildly erotic things to Lia’s body.

  “I didn’t know where they were. I finally found them in Philadelphia with Jude, but I wasn’t in any condition to fight. When I went searching for them again, they’d scattered and dropped off my radar. I knew Jude was the key. If I kept following him, he’d eventually call them to him. Now it’s happened.”

  Utah wanted to know why Kione had helped destroy the vampire clan, but he decided now wasn’t the time to ask. He let Fin do the questioning.

  “Why do you wear the cloak without a shirt?” Fin took a sip of his coffee.

  “The pain was . . . bad, but I finally found a wizard who sold the cloak to me. He’d woven a powerful spell into it. The cloak eases the pain a little, but it has to be touching my skin.”

  Fin stood. “If I take away the pain, will you agree to help us find Seven?”

  Lia looked as startled as Utah felt. Could Fin do that? A familiar unease poked at him. None of the Eleven knew the extent of Fin’s power. At first, they’d thought he was like them, a man with the soul of a prehistoric predator. Well, they’d seen enough to know now that he wasn’t. Then what was he? And why was he with them?

  Something flashed in Utah’s mind. An amorphous memory, half formed, of a time before he hunted as a raptor. A time when Fin was . . . Suddenly, pain stabbed at his head and the memory faded, leaving nothing but a feeling of horror. His heart pounded and his breath felt frozen in his chest. What the hell . . . ? Hadn’t this happened before? And each time he thought he’d snag the memory, it slipped his line.

  Lia touched his arm. “Are you okay?” Her soft question calmed him.

  “Yeah. I’m fine.” He took a deep breath.

  Someone was watching him. Utah glanced up. Fin met his gaze. His eyes shone purple. Then Kione broke the connection.

  “I can’t be bought.” Kione’s voice was tight, his words filled with a meaning that seemed to go beyond Fin’s offer.

  Fin shrugged. “I’m not trying to buy you. I’m simply offering a temporary partnership. We’re trading favors.”

  Utah almost snorted. Right. Fin was trying to buy him.

  Surprisingly, Kione didn’t reject him outright. “I have healing skills, but I couldn’t take away my own pain.”

  “I’m outside the realm of experience for those who cursed you. They won’t have fashioned their curse with me in mind.” Fin motioned for the unseelie prince to come stand in front of him. Kione hesitated, but then walked to the head of the table.

  “Remove the cloak.”

  “First tell me what you’re going to do.”

  Fin looked impatient. “I’m going to take away the pain. I can’t do anything about the welts, and I probably can’t take the pain away permanently. But you’ll be pain-free for a few weeks.”

  Kione looked as though he wanted to ask more questions, but the promise of no pain even for a short time must’ve kept him quiet. He dropped his cloak from his shoulders.

  Then Fin reached out and placed his palm flat against Kione’s chest. The dark fairy shuddered, but held still. From what he’d seen of Kione so far, Utah guessed that not many people had ever touched him. He had his keep-away vibe dialed to high at all times.

  Fin tensed. His face lost all color, skin stretched tight over jaw and cheekbones, every plane thrown into stark relief. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t ask for help. His eyes shaded from deep purple to almost black.

  Fin was in pain. Agonizing pain. Utah’s beast sensed it even if Fin said nothing. And the instinct to protect a pack mate kicked in. If Fin was hurting, that must mean he was drawing Kione’s pain into himself.

  Utah moved to his leader’s side. How man
y times had Fin saved the butts of different members of the Eleven? He never asked for thanks, and no one had ever stepped up to help him. Utah wasn’t sure what he could do, but maybe he could siphon off some of Fin’s pain. It was worth a try.

  Utah clasped Fin’s free hand. Pain hit him like the slap of an icy wave on a winter’s day. He gasped and fought the urge to drop Fin’s hand. God, how had Kione lived with this? Cramps doubled him over, tearing his breath from his body and almost bringing tears to his eyes. The pain sliced through his veins like a jagged knife and stabbed at his head. He fought down the need to scream. Fin was taking the worst hit, and he still stood strong.

  Suddenly, when he thought he couldn’t take it for one more second, he felt someone clasp his hand. Through the black wall of pain crushing him, he recognized her. He took strength from the warmth of her skin pressed against his, the sense of comfort it brought, and the gradual easing of the agony.

  And when he felt her clench against the pain flowing into her, he squeezed her hand, hoping he was giving back some of the comfort along with the hurt.

  After what seemed like years, Utah could finally think past the torture. He was sweating. Everyone dropped hands, and he sat down next to Lia. He still shook from reaction as he automatically put his arm across her shoulders. “Thank you” seemed inadequate, so he said nothing to her. “How the hell did you live with that, Kione?”

  “I retreated into madness until I found the one who sold me the cloak.” He stared at Fin. “The bargain is struck.” Then he looked at Lia and Utah, careful not to make eye contact. “I owe you.”

  “Tor is waiting in the hall. He’ll find a shirt and jacket for you.” Fin’s color was returning.

  “I’ll accept the shirt, but the cloak stays with me.” He picked it up. “I can’t take the chance of losing it.” A pause. “I’ll need it again once Seven is gone.”

  He didn’t smile as he turned to leave the room. “I’ll wait for you outside. I need to be alone for a while. I don’t even remember the last time I didn’t feel pain, and I want to see what the world looks like without it.”

  Utah fought to maintain cold detachment. He couldn’t do it. And that scared him. All these emotions—desire for Lia, sympathy for Kione, worry for Fin—were messing with his main agenda. He didn’t want anything to dilute his hatred for all things vampire.