by Nina Bangs
“I didn’t understand the first ten. Maybe I’ll get it this time.”
Kione stared at him.
Utah looked away. He didn’t need a raging case of lust on top of all the other emotions boiling over inside him.
“One more time, raptor. I can find someone once I’ve made a connection with them. I made a connection with Lia. But the Lia we knew no longer exists. She’s vampire now. Therefore. I. Can’t. Find. Her.”
“She’ll still be the same person inside the same body.” And if he kept repeating this, he might eventually believe it.
“There’re certain events in our lives that change us forever.” Kione’s voice softened. “And we’re never the same.”
Utah barely noticed. “We’ve searched every damn corner of this city.” Frustration beat at him. Three days and nights with no sign of Lia or Seven. “Maybe they’ve moved out of the city.”
Kione looked doubtful. “Christine needs lots of new recruits and a plentiful food supply for them. She won’t get either out in the country.”
“Yeah.” Utah scanned the area. Darkened buildings. A few streetlights. No foot traffic and almost no cars passing. “The big jump in homicides and disappearances has been all over the local news. She’s not reining in her newbies.”
“Why should she? That’s what she’s selling—a free-for-all killing spree.”
Utah noticed that Kione was constantly watching the shadows. He didn’t blame the guy. With Jude’s heavy hitters in town and hunting for him, Kione had to stay alert. Utah almost wished the five bloodsuckers would find them. He’d put his money on Kione. Besides, it would give Utah’s beast an excuse to vent its pent-up rage.
Suddenly, Kione froze.
At the same time, Utah caught a scent. Whatever was here crouched just beyond a nearby streetlight’s circle of light. He couldn’t see it, but the smell was familiar. Feline. Not a house cat, and not anything he recognized.
Kione relaxed a little. “I sense no aggression.”
Utah wasn’t so sure. A large predator might kill just for the hell of it. Besides, a big cat prowling the city streets was way outside of normal. He decided to take the initiative. “If you’re a shifter, come out and talk.” And if you’re not? Better run because the animal control people will be on your tail.
The shadows rippled and moved. Darkness coalesced into a huge black cat. It stalked them, golden eyes glowing. Jaguar. All the human stuff Fin had downloaded into his brain when he first rose was coming in handy.
“Who are you?” Kione didn’t move.
Utah took a step forward. His philosophy was that prey stood still or turned and ran. A predator always advanced, because a timid hunter never lived a long life. He wouldn’t show weakness in the presence of this animal.
The male voice in his head was unfamiliar.
“I am Balan, the messenger for those you call by numbers. I am honored to meet another God of the Night and a mighty fae prince.”
God of the Night? Utah almost snorted, but decided it might not be wise to piss off someone with a connection to Seven. “I’d say it was an honor to meet you too, but since Seven has taken one of ours and is busy trying to kill us, I guess I have to put you in the enemy camp.”
Balan circled them, moving with a powerful grace, his unblinking golden stare shining in the darkness. “I am not the enemy. I am simply a messenger. I observe and report, nothing more.”
Utah wasn’t so sure of the simply-a-messenger part. He felt a power in the cat he couldn’t identify.
Kione finally spoke up. “I assume you have a message for us.” The edge of his cloak lifted as the wind suddenly kicked up.
“Your power stirs the heavens, prince. An impressive display, but I have a cat’s aversion to getting wet. Please control it until I have gone.” Balan turned his attention to Utah. “Seven is only responding to your aggression. If the Eleven would leave us in peace, no one else need suffer.”
“Leave you to destroy humanity? Not likely.” Utah watched the jaguar pause in the shadows.
“It will happen whether you wish it or not.” Balan seemed to sink farther into the darkness until only his golden eyes were visible.
Utah rushed into speech, afraid the cat would leave. “Where has Seven taken Lia? Is she okay?” Not that he expected Balan to answer his questions, but he had to try.
“Lia is well, but Seven no longer has her. She now resides with my master.”
“Who is . . . ?” God, Utah wanted to shake the information out of the cryptic bastard.
“The one you name Zero.”
Utah felt the name as a punch to the gut. Fear for Lia clenched his stomach into a tight knot. This was what it meant to be human, this terror for another. He didn’t know if he’d survive his humanity.
“Your message?” Kione prompted Balan.
“My master wishes to make an exchange. He will trade Lia for Seir. He wishes you to take this message to Fin.”
Utah pounced on the important part of Balan’s message. They could get Lia back. “Why doesn’t he contact Fin himself?” All they had to do was to release Seir. Get it done, Fin.
Balan made a coughing noise that sounded strangely like laughter. “Fin has never been reasonable where Zero is concerned. My master feels that because you have an interest in Lia, you will present his message in a way that may convince Fin to accept. Besides, you had no human with you and so were easy to track.”
“Hate to tell you, kitty, but Fin probably already knows about it. My mind is open to him.” Utah didn’t know why he felt the need to irritate Balan. Maybe because the cat oozed superiority.
“You are rude. But that is to be expected from one who is only a few months removed from his primitive state.” He offered a good imitation of an offended sniff. “And Zero is keeping Fin occupied at the moment. Your leader is not aware of my presence.”
Utah couldn’t get past Balan’s comment about his rudeness. “Maybe I wouldn’t be so rude if you and your master weren’t being assholes by holding Lia hostage.” He wasn’t acting too smart. He shouldn’t be antagonizing the cat, but he couldn’t help it. The memory of Rap’s death was still raw and bleeding. It made him afraid for Lia. And when he was afraid, he struck out. A newly discovered character trait he’d have to control.
“How many times must I tell you that I merely—”
“I know, I know. You only observe and report. Got it.” Utah glanced at Kione. He didn’t trust himself to say anything more.
“And if Fin agrees, where will the exchange take place?” Kione seemed to be keeping the wind in check, but a few drops of rain were beginning to fall.
“Tell Fin of this meeting. If he agrees, meet me outside of his condo. We can make arrangements then.” Balan was backing away, fading into the darkness.
Suddenly, the sky opened, dropping buckets of icy rain on them. The jaguar squalled and hissed his outrage as he disappeared.
Kione’s laughter followed the cat into the night.
Amazed, Utah turned to him. “I can’t believe it. The man has a sense of humor after all. It’s almost worth standing in a cold rain to experience the wonder of it.” He pulled his coat shut. “Let’s get out of here.” Putting his head down, he ran to the car.
Even as they climbed into the car, the rain lightened. Utah drove toward Fin’s condo while thoughts of what he’d say to Lia when he saw her again filled his mind. “Hi,” seemed a little inadequate.
“You care for Lia.” Kione made it a statement.
“Sure. She’s my partner.” Utah hoped he’d drop the subject.
“I’m your partner too, but I don’t think you’d have the same feelings if Zero took me.”
Utah shrugged. “You can take care of yourself a little better than Lia.” He thought about it. “Yeah, you’re my partner. And sure, my feelings for you aren’t the same as my feelings for her. But if Zero had you, I’d come for you. It’s what partners do.” It’s what pack does. Then why couldn’t you help Rap? He shove
d the guilt aside and thought about Kione. “You know, when I first met you I thought you were this cold, strange guy. Hey, you’re still this cold, strange guy, but now you’re pack.” Utah was surprised that he meant it.
Kione’s silence made Utah uneasy. Finally, the dark fairy spoke. “Thank you.”
For someone who claimed to have no emotions, Utah heard a lot of feeling in those two words.
“In honor of my official pack status, I have a few words of wisdom to offer. Don’t deny feelings that make you happy. Appreciate what you have when you have it. And never assume your power makes you invulnerable.” Bitterness laced Kione’s every word.
Utah sensed Kione had a ton of personal experience to back up that advice, but he also sensed that now wasn’t the time to dig.
“Will you still care for her now that she’s vampire?”
See, Kione had to ask that question. “I don’t know.” In the beginning, he thought hating her as vampire would be easy. Now? He didn’t think it would be easy at all. As he drove the rest of the way to Fin’s condo, he tried to figure out why she’d become so important to him.
Shen opened the door and pointed them toward Fin’s room with a warning that it might be wise not to disturb him now.
The hell with that. Utah wasn’t going to wait another minute to tell him about Lia. Kione trailed behind him. Even in what he had to know was a safe environment, Kione never looked relaxed. He always seemed to be expecting an attack.
When Utah reached Fin’s door, he knocked politely. When that got no response, he pounded away. There was a time before Lia when he would’ve given his leader the space he needed. Not now. Lia’s freedom came first.
Fin finally flung open his door. “What?” His question was an angry growl.
For a moment, Utah could only stare. This wasn’t the Fin he knew. This man was pale, his silver hair a tangle around his face, his eyes filled with a manic gleam.
“I hope this is important, Utah, because Zero just finished frying my brain, and I’d really like to kill someone.”
“Kione and I had a visit from Balan. You know him.”
“Yes. He goes where Zero goes.” Fin closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.
“He gave us a message to pass on to you from Zero. It’s about Lia. Can we come in?” Asking for permission to come in was only a formality. Utah didn’t intend to leave until he’d talked this out.
Fin ran his fingers through his hair before stepping aside. Utah and Kione walked into the room and waited while Fin closed the door.
A quick glance showed a completely sterile room. Nothing but the basic furniture. No artwork, nothing lying around. Impersonal. Utah had pictures of his brothers on the nightstand by his bed, and no one would ever accuse him of being neat. Well, at least when it came time to move on to the next city, Fin wouldn’t have much packing to do.
“Sit down.” Fin waved them to the couch while he dropped into a chair. “So you met Balan.”
Utah decided to get right to the point. “Zero has Lia. He’ll trade her for Seir.”
Fin leaned back in his chair. “I suppose Zero wanted you to know first because he didn’t trust me not to turn down the trade without asking the opinions of the rest of the Eleven.”
“Yeah, something like that.” It was sort of scary how Fin could always read people’s motivations.
“Logically, I should turn down the trade. Seir is the bigger threat of the two. He could tip the balance if he chose to throw in with Zero permanently.”
Utah opened his mouth to reject Fin’s reasoning, but Fin raised his hand to stop him.
“Of course, Zero doesn’t know about my visions. He doesn’t realize how important Lia really is. So it looks as though my loving brother and I won’t get to reminisce about the old days after all.” Fin sounded like he didn’t give a damn, but his eyes bled faint purple, a sure sign he was feeling some emotion. “I assume Balan wants you to pass my decision on to him. Tell him yes. Then find out how Zero wants to handle the trade.”
Relief washed over Utah. If Fin had nixed the trade, he would’ve had to figure out a way to rescue Lia on his own. And while Utah thought about possible trade scenarios, Fin talked to Kione.
“Since Adam considers Lia one of his, I’ll have to tell him about the trade. He’ll want to have a representative there. Jude will probably volunteer.” Fin waited for Kione to come to the logical conclusion.
Kione nodded. “Jude will bring his five vampires with him.”
“I can ask Jude to keep them away, but I can’t demand it.”
“Do you wish me to stay away?” Kione’s expression remained neutral.
“Do you want to stay away?”
“No.” The one word was a savage declaration of what he did want.
“I’ll trust that you won’t turn this into a killing event.” Fin managed to look threatening without moving a muscle. “At least until the trade is made.”
“I’ll try to control myself.” Kione almost smiled.
Fin turned his attention back to Utah. “Balan’s probably waiting outside for my decision. After you pass the information on to him, go tell my brother.”
The telling-Seir part surprised Utah. “I thought you’d want to give him the good news.”
“Then you thought wrong. Zero put a lot of effort into his mind games tonight. Only politeness is keeping me from pounding my head against the wall. After a few minutes with Seir, I’d be trying to kill him.”
“Then?” Utah was starting to feel like a freaking errand boy.
“You and Kione can sleep here.” Fin yawned. “Oh, and you don’t have to fill me in after you speak with Balan. I’ll be in your head at the meeting. Make sure to leave the door open.”
There was nothing more to say, so Utah and Kione left.
Balan waited for them in the darkness. They saw the golden gleam of his eyes before they saw the rest of him.
Utah was tired. He didn’t waste time on the niceties. “Fin’s okay with the trade. Where do we meet and what are the rules?”
“I’m pleasantly surprised. I did not think he’d agree so easily.” Balan cast a baleful glance Kione’s way. “I do not find you amusing, my unseelie friend. Dump water on me again and you’ll see what powers I own.”
Kione wore his fake puzzled frown. “But I thought you only observed and reported. You’d resort to violence?”
“I could make an exception for you.” He shifted his attention back to Utah. “Each side will be allowed ten representatives plus their leader. We will meet with you at two A.M. tomorrow at the International Rose Test Garden in Washington Park.”
“A rose garden?” Utah glanced at Kione, who shrugged. “How do we get there?”
“I would suggest Google Maps.”
“Sure. Where else?” Balan and Google Maps. An unexpected combination. “Why’d you choose a rose garden for the meeting?” Utah would’ve picked an indoor arena somewhere.
“Christine will be making the exchange for us, so she chose the site. She has an obsession with living things, and the garden’s plant life is quite spectacular.” Balan’s cat eyes grew sly. “Rosebushes have thorns. Perhaps she hopes blood will be shed. It is another of her obsessions.”
“Any other rules?” Utah noticed that Kione’s attention had wandered. Once again, he was searching the darkness.
“There will be no violence.”
Utah nodded, and Balan disappeared into the night.
Kione had nothing to say as they reentered the condo. Utah finally couldn’t stand it anymore.
“When they make their move, you know I’ll have your back.”
Kione stopped in front of one of the guest rooms and turned to him. “No one has stood with me for a very long time, raptor. I’ll remember this.” He went into the room and closed the door before Utah could say anything.
It seemed like everyone’s job was done except for his. Utah had to visit Seir before he could head for his own room. He wasn’t looking forward to th
is. Seir was like a man wearing layers of masks. It didn’t matter how many masks you yanked off, you’d never be sure if what was underneath was the real person. Maybe Utah didn’t want to see the real person. Maybe there wasn’t a real person.
When he reached Seir’s door, he knocked with more force than necessary. Utah hoped he was sleeping. Like he should be doing right now.
Seir must’ve been awake because he opened the door too quickly. He didn’t say anything as he motioned Utah in.
Utah looked around. Hey, he had something in common with Seir. They were both slobs. Seir had flung a shirt over a chair, dropped his pants on the floor, and kicked his shoes off. He wore clean clothes, so Fin must’ve loaned him some of his. A half-finished drink sat on the coffee table.
Seir flopped onto the couch. He didn’t say anything, just picked up his drink.
Utah opted to remain standing. He’d make this quick. “Zero has Lia, but he’s willing to trade her for you. Fin agreed. The exchange is set for two tomorrow morning at some rose garden.”
“Why didn’t my brother come to tell me this?” Seir didn’t sound particularly interested. He stared into his drink.
“Zero gave him a hard time tonight. Guess he has a headache. And you irritate the hell out of him. He figured he’d end up trying to kill you if he came himself.”
Seir grinned. “He likes to play the cool and together guy, but Earth wouldn’t survive if he ever really lost his temper. Makes me proud to call him brother.”
Now was as good a time as any to ask Seir a question. “What did you mean when you said Lia and I weren’t supposed to be taken?”
Seir shrugged. “I figured Fin couldn’t resist coming, and I knew Christine would make an appearance. When she showed up, Fin would toss her butt back out into the cosmos. Then he could move on to another city. Didn’t shake out that way. I was hanging around because, well, it was my show. But big brother was so worried about what I would do that he missed his chance.”
“Truth?”
Seir finally looked at him. “Maybe, maybe not. It’s whatever you want it to be.”
“Yeah, figured that. Well, at least you know Zero values you. He’s giving up Lia to get you back.” Utah didn’t know why he bothered to say anything nice to the jerk.
