by Jayne Hawke
Eight
“Exhale slowly and let it go,” Rex said.
I raised an eyebrow at him as I turned towards my car.
“The feeling. The blood lust.”
I debated denying it, but we were pack. We weren’t supposed to hide stupid things from each other.
“I can practically feel it radiating off you. Consciously let it go and move on,” he said.
The urge to glance back at the carnage grew as I walked towards my car and tried to focus on letting the sensation go. It faded, but I found that I didn’t entirely want it to. The feeling made me feel on top of the world, it made me feel powerful.
Rex gave me a gentle smile.
“Elijah wouldn’t have chosen you if you were weak. You’ll figure it out.”
That was a compliment. From Rex. Maybe I should have checked his temperature to make sure that he was ok.
“I kicked more ass than you, though,” he said as he got into his own car.
I’d been pretty sure that I’d taken down more than him, but I couldn’t be sure. Dammit, that was going to be ongoing thing now. He gave me a shit-eating grin as he turned his engine on.
Sighing, I got into my own car. The scene was useless, and I needed a shower.
“What happened? Are you injured?” Elijah asked as he ran his hands down my arms.
“I’m fine. I think this shirt might be ruined, though. Do they make Teflon shirts? I need a few.”
“You could definitely pull off latex,” Jess offered from her spot by the window. When I didn’t respond, she added, “Emphasis on ‘pull off,’” giggling as I blushed.
Elijah looked into my eyes and gently ran his thumb along my chin, bringing my focus entirely onto him.
“What happened?”
“Varehn hired some hyena shifters to take us out at the scene with the body.”
A deep growl rumbled in Elijah’s throat.
“Don’t worry. They didn’t stand a chance. She almost killed as many as me,” Rex said.
“I killed more than you!”
“She’s developing her prey drive, too. Careful, she might bite harder than you like.”
I tried to fight back the blush that was increasingly spreading across my cheeks. Elijah smirked at me, and I could practically feel the comments he was holding back. The latex comment had definitely set some wheels turning.
Maybe it was the high from the fight, or maybe I’d just reached my limit of restraint. I leaned into Elijah and whispered huskily in his ear, “Come and join me for a shower.”
A knowing smile slowly spread across his face before he wrapped his arm around my waist and we went upstairs to his private bathroom. We were going to need full privacy for this. I reached past him and turned the shower on, the water streamed from the large shower head quickly forming a cloud of steam. Elijah kept his hands lightly on my hips, waiting. This was all me.
I wanted to rip his clothes off and climb him like a tree, but this was our first time. I needed to savour it. Slowly I nibbled my way down his throat as I pulled his t-shirt up, revealing the toned abs and hard chest I’d admired from afar to my butterfly-gentle touch. I felt his tension and knew he wouldn’t let me play much longer. I wished I still had the claws I’d fought with earlier and chose not to examine that thought too carefully. I continued downward, alternating gentle bites and gentler caresses, the shower forgotten as I fell to my knees and the object of my desire sprang free.
He didn’t need any further encouragement, and as his hands tangled in my hair and a deep snarl escaped his throat somewhere far above I knew my rewards would be thorough.
Nine
Elijah looked at me differently as we lay entwined in each other on his bed. There was a softness in his eyes. The disconcerting thing was I could feel the shadow of a bond between us. It wasn’t as strong as my bond with Castor, but I could feel the blissful contentment running through him. This was really it. We were life bonds.
Reaching up to run my fingers through his hair, I had to smile. I never would have expected to fall into that situation. The idea of having a boyfriend, let alone a life bond had been completely absurd a year ago. And yet his arms had become my sanctuary. No matter what happened out in the world, I knew that I would find peace there.
“Have you finished? Varehn is out there getting clues and shit,” Rex said as he banged on the bedroom door.
And there went the peace.
Elijah groaned and sat up, leaving me with no option but to do the same. Rex wasn’t wrong. We needed to be out there banging on doors and figuring out what was going on.
“Do you have a fresh lead?” Elijah asked as he pulled on his boxers.
I stole one of his t-shirts, as I didn’t have any clean clothes in his room. The shifters didn’t mind being naked around each other, but I didn’t think I’d ever be that comfortable.
“Not a lead. Varehn’s put out a call for bounty hunters, merc’s, lowlives, whoever’ll put us down.”
Because of course he had. Why play fair when you could throw your money around?
I stepped out into the hallway. Rex smirked at me, and I ignored him to go and find fresh clothes in my own room. A glance at Castor’s empty room brought a sigh to my lips. I knew he was alive, somewhere, the bond was still in place. It felt wrong not having him around. He’d have had some stupid comments to make about the progression between Elijah and me.
Pushing the thoughts aside, I closed the door to my room and put on clean clothes.
“Oh, come on! They can’t hire the crows, that’s just suicide,” Liam said.
“You know the crows won’t turn down a chance at something shiny,” Elijah said.
“I’m offended that they think they have a chance against us,” Liam said.
“Can we make crow pie?” Jess asked.
“You do understand we’re talking crow shifters right? Don’t you think that’s a bit weird?” Liam asked.
“As long as they’re in crow form...” Jess said with a shrug.
“And there we have the reason why I don’t trust anything she cooks,” Liam said.
“Varehn’s hired some crow shifters to take us out?” I asked as I settled into my preferred seat on the couch.
“Not precisely,” Liam said.
Rex crossed his arms and gave a little shake of his head before he said, “They’ve put out an all call for anyone and everyone who wants a chance to take us out.”
Well, that was going to be fun.
“Rumour has it that they’re trying to find enemies from our pasts, too,” Liam said.
That wasn’t good. I’d worked hard to make sure that my back story held up, but a couple of stalkers had figured it out. The last thing we needed was for the news to get out into the city.
“Let them come for us,” Rex said.
Elijah handed me a doughnut.
“Agreed. We’re the best in the city. If we have to remove a few low-life talentless thugs from the streets, so be it. Make the world a better place, get some practice in, and remind people why the hire us instead of fighting us.”
“No one with any real skill would stand against us. They know that’s just stupid. It might not be a bad idea to hire a few, though. It’s not like we don’t have the money, and we’re supposed to be focused on this fire thing,” Jess said.
I’d never hired someone on in that capacity before. Sure, we’d brought in the spell-breaker to help us with the crazy jaguar guardian and I wasn’t averse to using specialists for jobs that called for unique abilities, but Jess was talking about entire groups of mercs. It wasn’t the worst idea; we did need to focus and get ahead of Varehn. On the other hand, they were potentially going to die for us. That didn’t sit particularly well with me.
“We’ll think about it. Hiring people in to handle those who come against us potentially makes us look weak,” Elijah said.
“We don’t want to be swamped with thugs and such, though. I assume they’re going to rush to the scenes and fuck up
any evidence that might be there, too,” I said.
It increasingly felt like we were up against bratty children. I could understand why they were doing as they were, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth.
Ten
The discussion on whether we should or shouldn’t hire our own mercenaries was put on hold when I got a call from Sean. He was a low-level knowledge broker who hid out in the Narrows. I’d put word out to everyone that I wanted information on phoenixes, the arson cases, and the fixer. He hadn’t been one I’d expected to hear from, given his information was usually more tied into who was screwing who, but I’d take what I could get.
“At what point does it become a war of attrition that the entire city is pulled into?” Liam asked.
Rex shrugged.
“The fae will die before then.”
“I’m going to see if I can get some useful information,” I said.
“From?” Elijah asked.
“Sean.”
Elijah curled up his lip.
“He’s a waste of time.”
“Usually, but can we really afford to turn down a potential lead right now?”
“Be careful. I’m taking Zara to dinner. Rumour has it that she can get people into the big Knight library.”
I didn’t like the feeling that bubbled up at the idea of his taking some beautiful woman to dinner. Still, it was just dinner, and sometimes we had to do crappy things to get what we needed. If we could get into the Knight library, then we’d be able to find out everything ever written about phoenixes, phoenix witches, and arsonists in the city. The Knights kept a track of absolutely everything. Getting in there was every bounty hunter’s dream.
Leaning over, I kissed Elijah hard. I’d never been possessive or jealous before, but he was different. He grinned at me. His wolf side clearly appreciated my gesture.
The Narrows took on a very different feel once the sun set. During the day, people were minding their own business and the shops could mostly pass as something a non-criminal might have been interested in. After dark, when the shadows stretched over the well-worn walls and the streets seemed to grow fresh twists and turns, the place revealed its true nature.
The scent of sea salt, seaweed, and fresh blood caught my attention. Kelpies mostly kept to themselves and ran their own territories on the very edge of the cities. They didn’t play well with others. The large fae horse shifters were powerful, incredibly predatory, and vicious. They usually took the role of criminal kingpins running big drug operations, with lower-level herd members taking on the role of bouncers (who happened to eat those who broke the rules), and heavies.
Turning the corner, I saw them. A pair of big hulking men with black curly hair that held a soft seaweed-green cast even in the faint light from the old streetlight covered in salt and dirt. They turned their attention to me, their nostrils flaring as they looked me up and down. Each of them was comfortably 6’3 with heavy muscular forms and savage smiles. The younger one handed a big brown package to Sven, the rangy young wolf acting as a go between.
I had to admit, I was curious to know which drug was in there and how much it was going for. Drugs had never been my thing, but I did like knowing who was doing what. You never knew when that information would be of use. Kelpies were literal predators, in that they ate the flesh of anyone who crossed them or walked a little too close to their territory. They weren’t fussy. Humans, other fae, witches, I’m sure they’d take a bite out of a fallen if they could catch them. That had led to rumours about some of their drugs being made from witches or other magical beings that had fallen foul of them.
Stories had spread about Avalanche being made from ground up witch bones. Looking at the hardness in those kelpies’ eyes, I could believe it. The kelpies watched as I casually walked by them. What they were doing was none of my business, although I might see if I could get some info out of Sven on the way back. A few secrets in my back pocket never did any harm.
I paused next to a wall that might have been white once. The paint had peeled away, leaving the corner bare and exposed to reveal dark-red brick beneath. A slash of neon green with small, delicate, lavender-coloured sigils painted alongside it showed the building to belong to a witch who went by ‘Miss Rose’. She painted herself as a delicate woman with beautiful dresses, manicured layers, and coiffed hair. Beneath it all, she was a cutthroat bitch who’d sooner stab you in the back than pay you what she owed you. Still, she had access to supply lines no one else did, which gave her an edge in dangerous magic objects and potions.
The area around there seemed different from what I last remembered, which further increased my suspicion that the Narrows did shift and change. There was supposed to have been a black building with narrow windows and a small jewellery store on the bottom level directly in front of me. Instead, I was looking at a tall, broad, brilliant-purple building with a knife store. Some of the knives in the softly lit space did look like they were well made, but they were likely stolen, cursed, or knockoffs. It wasn’t worth buying something your life might depend on from the Narrows if you didn’t have to.
Sighing, I tried to get my bearings. Maybe I’d taken a wrong turn somewhere. Sean was supposed to be beneath the virgin’s blood tree. It was so called due to the pure snow-white bark and the poisonous red sap that ran down it. Some people had tried to collect that sap to sell on. None of them survived, and no one had figured out quite how it worked. Something about the sap changed when it was removed from the tree. Everyone who had tried, even those who’d taken every precaution, had died an awful death that resulted in their organs liquifying.
I was about to turn back and see where I’d gone wrong when I spotted Sean’s spiked blond hair and battered leather jacket. He was casually emerging from the herbalist a few doors down.
“Lily! My favourite witch,” he said with a big fake grin.
“Cut the shit, Sean. What happened to the tree?”
“Oh, yea, that. I saw this fantastic deal on some wolfsbane and figured you wouldn’t mind.”
I wasn’t going to ask what he wanted with wolfsbane. Nor was I going to point out that the stuff I saw in the clear bag wasn’t wolfsbane.
“We’ll go and talk somewhere more quiet,” Sean said as he began walking away.
“Here will do just fine,” I said.
The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end. Something was off, and I wasn’t going to follow him anywhere.
Eleven
“What did you do, Sean?” I asked.
He gave me that same flat, fake grin.
“Nothing. I just bought some herbs.”
I took a step closer to him. He backed up fast.
“Did you set me up? Because you know that would be a very stupid thing to do.”
“Aw, Lily, come on. You know I’m not like that.”
I knew that he was the type who would sell his favourite grandma to the first person who asked as long as they gave him some drugs or cash. Hel, even the promise of some juicy gossip would probably do it.
“What did you do, Sean?” I pressed.
He swallowed hard and glanced behind him. I felt it then. The weird, spongey magic. I still hadn’t figured out exactly what that frail looking old woman had been. The scent of a strange sea caught my attention as the woman came into view.
Could she have been a finwife hag? Was she what happened to finwives who married one of their own?
“You didn’t go back where you belong, and now people who matter are dying,” she said, by way of introduction.
“Who matters?” I asked.
“Lots of people. People whose actions create ripples of effect in the world that extend beyond your pretty little head’s ability to fathom.”
“Ok, right, but who in particular that I’ve killed since the last time you failed to kill me?”
She snarled and bared filthy teeth at me, beginning the slow, painful-looking gait I remembered as she did. “Who have you killed? What matters is whom you’re going
to kill next, and I’m going to make sure the answer is ‘no one ever again’.”
She continued to spout sweet nothings at me largely boiling down to bitterness at our relative stations and my looks, reputation, and breeding. She was more agitated this time, her movements quicker and more expansive, her feet stomping along as she stared me down. I wondered how much time she’d spent practicing since our last bout. Did she have a morning regimen like mine? Was she going to go from inexplicable strength to inexplicable super-strength, or was this going to be a quick and easy kill?
I almost hated to kill her, she was clearly suffering, but the fact was I’d seen her twice and both times she’d attacked me entirely without provocation. At best, she was a threat to me as long as she lived. At worst, she reacted to everyone this way and I was just the survivor. Brighton was small, but big enough to have a few deaths fall beneath the radar if they were on the wrong side of the tracks.
It was plain that her technique hadn’t changed, the same off-balance hobble disguising the same precision of intent, only now with an added layer of emotion throwing her form. She wasn’t gathering magic, either, her focus intently on an ‘and another thing’ type tirade about my promiscuous dress style. I didn’t let myself relax. The last time we’d fought, she’d surprised me with strength I could neither match nor explain. I wasn’t going to repeat the mistake by assuming that was her only trick.
The spell I’d been devising for the spell trinket I carried was still a work in progress, which meant that it was empty. I did have a wide variety of energies on me, though, enough that I could hopefully finish the fight without risking her unpredictable physical ability. While she stomped, I began to weave a fire spell, simple but effective. Fire wasn’t an element I used very much, since it had to either be restored frequently to prevent it leeching out of its charm or taken from a very powerful source, which of course meant travel or expense. This didn’t seem like the time to be stingy, though, and I could afford it.
