City of Dragons: Of Flesh and Blood

by Wilder, Adrienne

  When Garrett spoke his voice had the tone of a man who’d come to terms with life, that what he’d been given was all he was going to get, and what he wanted just wasn’t going to happen. “They’ve recovered twenty-three of the thirty-five missing kids from the truck you called in. Those are best odds we can ask for.”

  Farley wondered how many times a day Garret stood in front of a mirror and told himself that. “So you’re okay with giving up?” The man’s heart rate took a jump but he stayed silent. “Garrett, all you need to do is ask me.”

  There was the metallic sound of a chair being pulled out and the squeak and grind of it taking on weight. In the darkness Garrett sighed. “Three months ago we had an agent get all the way inside Heikman’s circle. It was dangerous but we needed him in there. The only people who get to the core are his top clients or his victims. Unfortunately, less than two hours in we lost contact. Apparently Heikman found him out.”

  “What happened?”

  “The Agent managed to get out through the laundry service. Something ate one of his arms and half of a leg.” And Humans just didn’t grow limbs back. “He’s still in an isolation ward at Grady doped up on enough chlorapromazine to sedate an elephant. His body healed but his mind was a total loss.”

  Farley swallowed. “Damn.”

  “He had help getting out. We still don’t know who, but they used his cell phone to contact us on an internal priority line. Whoever it is, they have access to the entire building. We received video files for a while. A few text messages. Then everything went quiet. The data receiver our Agent was supposed to plant either malfunctioned or was destroyed. We don’t know which, but we never got the first blip.”

  Farley waited, because he knew there was more.

  “Yesterday our mystery contact popped up again.” And Garret sounded anything but happy. “They claim there were three young girls brought into the GLG, one of whom matches Jessica’s description.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this before now?”

  “I was hoping she’d be on the truck.”

  So now the only place left to look was the GLG.

  “Just say the word and I’ll go in.” And Farley would.

  Garrett moved in the dark. Desperation rolled off him in waves. “Yeah, I know you would. You never let me down.”

  Farley tried to smile. Fuck, even his lips hurt. “I’m good at what I do.” Not to mention he loved doing it. “You know that. I know that. C’mon Garrett, you have a plan, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, I have a plan.” He shifted his weight and the metal folding chair let out a groan. “I want you to know I don’t ask you this very easily. It goes against everything I believe in. It’s wrong, it’s sick…but right now I don’t have anywhere else to turn.” A pause, then, “From what we know, Heikman has exotic tastes when it comes to personal entertainment.”

  Leave it to Garrett to try and clean up the ugly. “Just say it, Garrett.”

  “He prefers Kin.”

  “Okay. Lots of people prefer us. That’s not so exotic.”

  “He prefers Kin because they can usually survive the things he does to them.”

  “Usually?”

  “From what our inside contact has said, he likes to cut them up. He was using Lesser-Breds for a while but they died too easily. The contact sent us video of the bodies. The word ‘butchered’ doesn’t even come close to describing the conditions they were in.” Farley knew Garrett wanted him to be shocked by what he was saying, but he wasn’t. The only thing shocking was that Heikman was Human and Humans didn’t usually want to play with things that were capable of ripping them limb from limb. Especially if they pissed it off.

  Which brought up the million dollar question. “Why would any Kin stand by and let him mutilate them?”

  “Heikman’s tastes are specific. He only targets submissives, and we suspect he uses something to control them. The GLG building isn’t Fort Knox, but the Kin who go in there don’t come out.”

  And the only other way to contain Kin without three feet of steel and underground holes would be Alchemy.

  “You think the Circle is involved?” Not that they had a habit of getting in on these kinds of extracurricular activities. Alchemist’s tastes were usually pretty cut and dry. They just wanted Kin dead.

  Garret said, “The Administrator has had a personal sit down with the Prime of the Atlanta Order. They’ve denied any involvement.”

  “And they believe them?”

  “Yes and no. They know something, no doubt about it. But whatever they know disturbs them almost as much as it does the Bureau.”

  “And they won’t tell you?”

  “No. But they insist they have nothing to do with Heikman and they’ve even offered to level the place. Twice.”

  Wow. Farley ran a hand over his scalp, wincing. It didn’t seem possible hair could hurt, but his did. “Do you have a way for me to get in?”

  “Farley, this is dangerous.”

  “I get that.”

  “Haley wouldn’t want you to go.”

  “She wouldn’t stop me either.” No. Haley wouldn’t stand in his way to do what he wanted. In spite of all her Human influences she understood him and took him as he was. Thinking of her made his chest ache. Farley started to rub his sternum and thought better of it.

  From somewhere in the dark Garrett said, “Heikman is shopping for a new…companion. He opens up to traders once every few weeks to bring him prospects. He pays a lot of money if he finds what he likes. The rest are auctioned off to other interested parties. Recent MKFK DNRs have been making the pickings slim. We’ve also managed to put a wrench in his supply by picking of several of his usual contacts and putting them in lock down. The DA flipped Paul Husley and he’s agreed to take you in.”

  “And after that?” Getting in sounded like the easy part. Getting out was what worried Farley. Strangely enough, the getting hurt part didn’t scare him at all. He’d lived through Darco too many times.

  “Our inside contact says they will get you out.” The ugly tone was back in Garrett’s voice, the one hinting of dark things.

  “How come I’m not feeling a whole bunch of go get’em? Usually you’re like a dog on a bone with this kind of crap.”

  Garrett sighed. “Honestly?”

  Yeah, honest would be good. “Knock yourself out.”

  “I find it too convenient.”

  Ahh--so Garrett’s spidey sense was firing on all cylinders. It probably didn’t help that the kind of things going on in the GLG set his moral standards on fire. Lucky for Farley, he classified morals along the same lines as underpants, optional and best left at home because they just get in the way.

  Farley said, “Garrett, I owe you. Let me do this.”

  His boss stood up and went to the door. “Get some rest. We’ll finish this talk tomorrow.”

  Farley had a feeling Garrett leaving was more of a ploy to give him some time to think this through.

  Sure. Whatever.

  Yawning loud enough to crack his jaw, Farley laid back and pulled the towel over his head. He was aware of Garrett standing there for a long time before he left.

  When sleep came, it took Farley down hard.

  Chapter 33

  This was very bad.

  And yet Orin couldn’t bring himself to push Haley away. So now he here he was on his knees and she had her arms around his shoulders, trembling in fear.

  His teeth punched down in response and the RHage in his chest stirred.

  So warm.

  “God of Man, what have I done?” Haley’s words were heat against his neck, and Orin clenched his eyes shut, fighting for control. “She owns me.” Her grip tightened.

  Hold her back, asshole. Yeah, cause so far he was being about as useful as a lawn ornament. Orin moved his arms, brought them up, around. And yeah, it felt nice. Too nice. His body ate up the metaphysical energy Haley cranked out.

  “You’ll be okay.” His words slurred around his teeth. Maybe in her
distress Haley wouldn’t notice. Orin willed them back up, but they refused to go anywhere. He was just too hungry.

  Movement caught his eye and Deshi came into his line of sight. He knelt down. Orin’s arms tightened of their own accord.

  Christ, what the hell was wrong with him?

  Beast.

  “She owns me…” Haley crawled into Orin’s lap and he really needed to stop her. Any closer and she was going to find out real quick just how happy he was for her to be there.

  “Haley.” Orin pushed her back and made her look at him. “How much of it did you hear?” She shook her head. Deshi reached for her and Orin had to resist the urge to knock him out of the way. After all, he was as much her friend as Orin, if not more.

  “She blocked me out mostly. I heard some of it. Felt some of it.” Her hands trembled as she pushed back her hair.

  “Orin made it okay.” Beautiful Deshi stroked her cheek. “Medan won’t be back unless you ask her in.”

  Haley’s eyes flicked back and forth between them. “Why, because she said so?”

  Orin said, “She owed me a favor.”

  “You’ve got to be kidding me? Do you seriously think she’ll do what she says?” Haley asked

  “Haley, it was an oath. Medan won’t go back on it. Trust me. It was one favor. Anything I asked for. No strings attached, no tricks, no games.”

  Her eyebrows went up. “You could have asked for anything?”

  “Pretty much. Anything within her power, yeah.” He could tell she was thumbing through all the possible requests. There were a lot of them. After all, Orin had faced the temptation to cash in hundreds of times over the years. Especially when things got bad. He said, “Getting her to give you control of the Link seemed like the best thing to do. Medan won’t so much as whisper to you in your dreams without permission.”

  Haley stared. “You could have asked for anything. Why would you waste it on me?”

  On his knees, Deshi moved closer. Too close as far as Orin was concerned. He realized he was glaring at the Prince. Which was fine. Glaring at him meant he wasn’t looking at Haley.

  “Orin?” She put a hand on his cheek and turned his head.

  Christ. Now he had to look at her. He took a breath, then three. The RHage was remarkably quiet.

  Haley asked, “Do you need me to move?”

  When he didn’t answer Haley started to get up, but his hands came up and grabbed her arms, putting her right back down in front of him. She smiled, probably because he was glowing like a red light. Damn it. Orin rubbed his face and his skin was hot enough to boil an egg. Much more and he was going to match the freaking carpet.

  Somehow he got his voice working. “I owed you.” She opened her mouth and Orin cut her off. “I should have told you. I didn’t. I used you and it was wrong. I can give you a dozen excuses and every one of them may be valid, but it doesn’t make up for everything else.” He couldn’t help but wonder how much she’d heard. Worse than that, whether or not she thought less of him because of it.

  “Does it hurt?” She put a hand on his chest.

  Well, obviously she knew about his personal problem, and her concern made his ego take a header right off a building. He dropped his eyes. “Sometimes.” But not nearly as bad as his thoroughly trashed self-esteem. Yeah, that sorry SOB was laying splattered on the sidewalk this very minute.

  “That’s why you don’t like to be touched.” Haley made it a statement.

  “No, it’s not that I don’t like to be touched.” God, he loved it, he was Kin. “It’s just every time I’m near my own I can feel Serena’s RHage move. It…” Scares the shit out of me. “It’s uncomfortable.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  Orin made the mistake of looking away. Deshi shot him an expression which said, “I told you so.” He made sure to give back a “Fuck you” look of his own.

  To Haley he said, “I just didn’t want you to know. I was scared for you to know.” Because it made me less Human. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I brought you here with the intentions of using you. I’m a prick and an asshole. I don’t deserve--” Her hand on his throat made his brain freeze up. Just like that, instant ice age of the frontal lobe.

  Haley said, “Tell me about Serena.”

  Orin didn’t want to tell her. He didn’t want her to know about the kind of ugliness that had infected his life. But against his will, the words fell out of his mouth. “She was the Queen of Africa until about seven hundred years ago. I was one of her Marked. Young, stupid, hungry for dominance, I went to her. She wanted to keep me because of my eyes.” He smiled a little. “At first I thought what she had to offer would make me into someone. That being owned was my purpose. That belonging would give me value. I had no idea that the price for her favor would be so high.” He paused, not sure if he was going to be able to continue. The memories flashing through his mind were suffocating. Then Haley’s thumb moved back and forth over his pulse. Orin closed his eyes. Yeah, like this, he’d tell her anything. Wanted to tell her everything. Bank accounts to darkest desires. Orin swallowed. “She used her Marked to hold her First RHage. I could hold more than any of them. She gained power, crushed nations.

  “When Medan, Nidia, and Verli killed her I was able to block Serena out and cut her off from the well of her RHage. I didn’t care if I died. I just couldn’t live any more. Not like that.” Orin’s hands became fists. “She died. Everyone died, except me. Then her RHage was left behind.” He touched his sternum. “In here. She used us, Haley.” Emotion threatened to crush Orin’s will, but the sensation of Haley gripping his throat, moving her thumb… Orin was suddenly melting and he didn’t even give a shit.

  He sighed. “We did terrible things. Horrible things. So many people died. Serena killed…millions. So much death. So much violence. That was her power. Violence. The other Queens had to kill her. Yeah…it was the only way.” Haley stopped and his eyes popped open.

  Beside him Deshi said, “Medan wants Orin to give you Serena’s RHage.”

  Orin narrowed his eyes at the Prince. There was just a wee bit too much anticipation in the Male’s tone. If he didn’t know better he’d think Deshi was excited about the prospect. Then the Prince looked up. Fuck. He was excited.

  Haley said, “I don’t understand.”

  “You weren’t impressed by a Queen. That means you don’t have a RHage.” Orin told her only because he didn’t want Deshi to have the opportunity.

  “Why?”

  Deshi said, “It’s why you almost lost it earlier. If you have a RHage, anything Medan leaks down to you you’ll be able to control. It won’t go haywire like it did.”

  “You’ll also be able to defend yourself against the RHage of other Females.” Orin tacked on.

  Haley tossed a look back and forth between them. She settled on Orin. “What about you?”

  He gave a shrug. “What about me?”

  “Do you want it gone?”

  Orin blinked. He had a big hell yeah answer but it was the fact Haley asked which left him speechless. She cared. Feeling like an asshole all over again, Orin dropped his head. It was her Human impressions. Any other Female wouldn’t give a damn. The comfort of others just wasn’t in their genetic makeup.

  “Orin?”

  God of Man, to be free of Serena’s RHage. The idea was too painful to bring to term. It occurred to Orin then that even though Serena was dead, he still had never really been free of her. He’d lived his entire life trying to keep the thing inside him. Guard always up. Defenses on full. To finally have peace?

  His voice was barely a whisper. “I would give anything to get rid of it.”

  “Then tell me what we need to do.”

  It took a lot of effort but he managed to look at her. “Haley, this isn’t…” How did he explain to her how horrible it was going to be? “You’ll have to Roll me to take it.”

  Haley didn’t even blink. Orin was sure it was because she didn’t know. ‘Cause if she had an ounce of insi
ght she probably would have run kicking and screaming.

  Orin was about to scrape together the courage to tell her when she asked, “When do we do it?”

  He instantly lost his nerve. No, you just don’t want her to back out. “We can’t tonight. You need to feed. And…” He scrubbed his face with both hands. “I do too. Tomorrow. We’ll try tomorrow.”

  Haley turned to Deshi and put a hand over his. “Will you feed us?”

  The Prince dropped his baby blues but kept his smile. “Of course.”

  Chapter 34

  Haley put a hand on Deshi’s cheek after he sat down at the end of the bed.

  She said, “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Because he looked scared.

  Beautiful Deshi gave a small nod and undid his shirt while kicking off his shoes. His hand moved to unbutton his pants but stopped. Haley saw him glance at Orin, who was still sitting on the floor by the edge of the bed with his face in his hands.

  When the Jersey City Prince brought his eyes back to Haley he popped the button. With a little leaning and leg lifting he slid them off. His fingers slid over the ragged pink line of flesh near his hip. It was an ugly reminder of the Nevus which had once been there.

  “Just one of many mistakes I’ve made, huh?” The sadness in his eyes made Haley’s hearts hurt.

  She shushed him and kissed him on the cheek. “You’re still beautiful.”

  Orin made a sound like he was trying to scrape his courage out of the soles of his feet.

  “You okay?” She asked. He gave a nod but didn’t say anything.

  Haley looked down at her shirt and pulled it off. It was wet, sticky, and she didn’t like the way it felt against her skin. More than that, she liked the way Deshi looked at her when she was naked. His hand brushed her shoulder, then her neck; heat prickled though his finger tips. He stared at her from under Maybelline lashes.

  “Orin?” Deshi glanced at the other Male. “I’m ready when you are.”

  Orin made that sound again and his head sunk closer to the floor.