“Fair enough. But I’ll have you know that if you try anything on me….”
“Not all cops are good, but it’s something I take seriously,” was Jace’s reply before the silence continued. After almost an hour of driving north on the freeway, they arrived at a small, single-family residence.
“You commute this far?” Avery inquired.
“Family homes are hard to give up, even for convenience.”
Jace fumbled with his keys for a moment before Avery tentatively followed him inside. From the foyer area, it was of simple design; a sofa, coffee table, dining table, and 70’s style kitchen. Bare minimum, except for a bunch of picture frames on the mantle above the old stone fireplace that drew her attention. There were many black and white photos of family members, old people, but one-color photo that stuck out to her: the detective wearing a flannel button-up and jeans, not his usual suit, with a huge smile on his face and lovingly embracing a slender red-head in a sweater dress.
She noticed they both were wearing rings on their respective fingers. “You’re married?”
“Divorced,” he called from the kitchen.
She found it strange he kept the photo, but it could have meant it wasn’t his decision.
Jace returned to her vision, seeing her studying the photo. “She couldn’t be married to someone who was married to the job,” he muttered and handed Avery a can of beer. “Here.” She reluctantly took it. She had noticed he had removed his jacket and loosened his tie, obviously a technique to try and make her feel more comfortable unless he was going to come onto her. But somehow she sensed he wouldn’t. He had been flirty in the past, but never gave her a reason to believe it had meant anything more.
“Let’s sit,” he motioned to the dining room table.
Avery pulled the chair farther than normal from the table and leaned back in it, trying to mentally prepare herself for anything he would ask. With Rose upset with her, who could she use as an alibi? The detective sat across from her and popped the top on his can, taking a frothy swig before sighing.
“Let’s start with this sword business.”
Easy. Avery had thought up a lie on the way over, “I was practicing my fencing, and a couple of kids spooked me.”
“You were practicing in the basement of a bar?” he arched his brow at her.
“I know the owner,” she began. Lie, lie, lie. “There is no space in my apartment, so I need to do it elsewhere. Look, they weren’t in danger, they just got spooked by it and overreacted.”
“Hmm,” Jace hummed and took another drink. He reached his hand into his shirt pocket and took out a folded piece of ratted paper, unfolding it and pushing it across the table. “Mind telling me what this is?”
Avery peered at the faded and marked up paper. It was her map of possible vampire nests and hideouts. She feigned ignorance, “Don’t know. Looks like a map.”
“I found this at the scene of your car accident. It wasn’t weathered enough to have already been there, just so conspicuously near the vehicle. So it’s either yours or your boyfriend’s. Which is it?”
“Why does it matter if it’s just a map from the car? What car doesn’t have some kind of atlas in it?”
“True but I asked myself, who needs a map of the town they’ve lived in for years? Looking into these markings, I found that quite a few are locations that there have been disturbances or crimes, including the club where the incidents happened and the bar you were at last night.”
Avery hunched forward in her seat and rolled her eyes sarcastically, “You still think I’m some kind of criminal.”
She jumped as Jace slammed his fist on the table, catching her off guard. “What I think is I was suddenly taken off your sister’s case by my superiors. I had to overhear the phone call from those scared college kids being talked down and ignored like it was a prank. And I was never told about the deaths at The Odyssey. I think I had to sneak around to find out where the black vans were heading and be the last on the scene, told it was just some gas leak and alcohol-related incident. I think my superiors are up to something and somehow you seem to be connected to quite a few of these things. I go investigating, there you are. So yeah, I think you know more than you’re saying about what the hell is going on in this town, though I don’t know how exactly you or your boyfriend are related to any of it.”
His hazel eyes bore into hers. To her surprise, he collected himself a moment and calmly continued, “Now…What is this map exactly?”
Avery crossed her arms, “So I’m here and not at the station because…?”
“Because I don’t have much evidence against you and I don’t know who to trust. My superiors might make me drop this as well, for all I know,” he interjected.
“And I should tell you anything because…?”
“I will follow you relentlessly until I get answers. It’s not like I have a life outside of work, and I take my work very seriously.”
He certainly would get answers if he followed her enough. To tell him, or not to tell him? The man sure was passionate, she’d give him that. Avery contemplated; if he wasn’t on The Order’s payroll now, he would be if he prolonged his stay in this town and found out a few things. Then maybe him knowing, he would back off and life would be simpler for her. Avery sipped on her beer, envisioning for a time. Jace seemingly acted patient, yet she could see the anxiety building within his limbs.
She took another swig, only to find fizz-less droplets left.
“We’re going to need more beer.”
The drive back to town was more eerily quiet than the previous ride had been. After Avery had explained the map and the organization that hides paranormal activity, the detective was simply stunned into silence. He hadn’t accused her of being drunk, crazy, or even lying to him, which was the most confusing. He just insisted that their talk was over for the time being.
As they pulled up to Talon’s house, Jace finally spoke up. “Is your boyfriend around?
Avery was brought back to reality from her daydreaming, “I don’t think so.”
“I want to talk to him.”
“I don’t know about that,” she said, unsure of what that could mean for Talon.
“If you are both truly innocent of any wrongdoing, you will get him to talk to me. If what you told me is…true….”
There it was. “You don’t believe me.”
“I don’t know what to believe. I’ve always had a sense for when the truth is told. It’s one of the reasons why I became a cop. All I know is something is going on that is beyond me. If what you say is true… I want proof.”
“Be careful what you wish for,” Avery muttered. “I’ll see what I can do.” If Talon ever shows up, that is.
Avery walked up to the porch and turned to watch the detective drive back down the two-track. When he was out of sight, she unlocked the door with the hidden key and entered the quiet home she had left slightly a mess. Talon was usually immaculate with his cleaning; this was something they would probably butt heads over in the future. Avery crept up the stairs and hoped to find a mass sleeping amongst the dark, silk sheets. They were still as she left them earlier; barren and askew. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she figured she still had a couple hours before sunset. It was enough time to clean up, have a quick meal, and take a nap before she hunted down her vampire lover.
After a sandwich, Avery stashed the cursed knife on the bedside table and dove into the bed, cocooning herself into the blankets. She found herself inhaling deeply, searching for a scent; a trace that he was ever there. She knew now after he was only gone for a short time that she needed him. If he had become ash, would she even find a trace of him? Though many a bad thought consumed her, sleep finally took her out of her mental misery.
REM came almost immediately. She saw the vampire whose entrails slipped from his own grasp as he desperately tried to hold himself together. A nude Cain leaned over this vampire, whispering sweet nothings to him before biting his own wrist and forcing it over
the dying vampire’s mouth.
Avery stirred when she heard the front door opening. She jumped out of bed, pausing only long enough to sheath the knife in her pants before racing to the stairs. “Talon?” she stopped halfway down the flight and called out. “I was worried about you.”
“That’s very sweet of you, honey.”
Where Avery had envisioned her tall, pale, dirty blonde with icy blue eyes, instead stood her childhood monster she had thought was gone forever. His dark eyes narrowed at her as he smiled in delight, mocking her. Need a weapon. She couldn’t use the dagger’s power on Gunner, she needed to save it for Cain. Avery turned to bolt toward the couch where her sword lay, but was instantly caught by her hair and yanked backward.
She turned quickly to punch her attacker in his face, but her wrist was caught in his grasp, and he delivered a knee to her chest, knocking the wind from her. Avery bent over, gasping in immense pain, a pool of heat spreading across her left rib cage.
Gunner lightly pushed her down onto her knees and chuckled, “Not so hard, right?” Two other vampires came up to her and accosted her. They bound her hands behind her back. Avery struggled and managed to get up long enough to kick one of them in the throat before Gunner knocked her legs out from under her. She couldn’t catch herself, and her already sensitive head hit the carpeted floor hard. It made her feel dizzy and her vision marginally blurred as she was gagged and a dark bag was placed over her head. The taste of her gag was disgustingly bitter and made her involuntarily salivate. Why did she think she stood a chance against that old of a vampire? Talon must have let her get the upper-hand on him too much, and it gave her a false sense of confidence.
“She is declawed and can’t see where to attack,” Gunner laughed. “Just like subduing an angry cat.”
What Avery heard next was a clicking sound.
“Let her go, now.” A stern voice she could only associate with the one detective she knew. Jace.
“Take him out,” Gunner commanded.
“Don’t move or I will shoot!”
Gunshots resonated, ringing Avery’s ears and deafening her.
“What the hell…” Jace’s muffled voice exclaimed before there were crashing sounds around her.
Gunner’s irritated voice broke the following silence, “Get her into the van.”
CHAPTER 21
Avery used what little ability was left to her to listen for clues as to where she was being driven to from her cold, steel corner. She had tried to loosen her confines and even to slip her hands under her butt to get them from her back to her front, but the movement gave her ribs a sharp, stinging misery. It hurt more when she breathed, and she had to remind herself to continue to take normal breaths, not the shallow ones though they felt better. She was certain they were only bruised, not broken, but it still sucked. She had been roughly pat down, groped being a better word, and her knife taken from her before being thrown into the vehicle. She tried to ascertain if one of the vampires still had it in their possession, and from the conversation, she was able to confirm that suspicion. When there was nothing but silence and bumps that further caused her discomfort, she tried to recreate the sounds made while she was blinded at the house, hoping that the detective was still alive though most likely injured. She hadn’t smelled blood after the commotion, but without her sight, there was no way of knowing if they hadn’t injured him badly enough to the point of death.
After what she determined was a little over an hour the van came to a halt, jolting her forward. She heard the heavy door slide open and tensed herself before being grabbed roughly by her arms.
“Don’t struggle, little girl,” a gruff voice whispered through the hood on her head before she was hoisted over someone’s shoulder. She let out a muffled gasp for air as the tenderness in her ribs resurfaced upon the impact. The footsteps were on gravel, accompanied by others. She honestly couldn’t think of what to do at the moment that would result in her coming out on top, except to let them take her wherever they were going to stash her and plan an escape from there. If they took her to their boss, even better for her. But she’d need to figure out which one of these guys had her cursed dagger on him. She could only identify whom she thought it was by voice but was positive it was the vampire carrying her. She could feel their ascension of stairs as she jostled.
“Take her to him.”
That was Gunner’s voice for sure. Avery growled low in her throat. She could feel her blood pressure rise. I will find you and end you for good, you bastard.
More painful stairs later, Avery cried out through her gag as she was plopped into a chair. Footsteps faded away across creaky wood floors, and the only sound around her was the crackling of a fire. She once again tried to struggle against her restraints to no avail. She felt around her, getting up from the chair. She felt the heat on her back from a fire and headed in a different direction. Once she connected with a wall, she glided her shoulder along it, using the sides of her hands to feel for something she could use.
She had hoped that even the smallest nail would be of use. What she didn’t expect though, was the firm mass she ran into someone’s chest. Avery jumped back, her adrenaline spiked and ready to kick if she heard the slightest step toward her. Soundlessly, she felt a gentle tug on the hood covering her head and froze up. Something in her head had hoped for Talon to be trapped in the room with her, but why wouldn’t he speak and let himself be known? Avery winced a moment at the light invading her retinas before her eyes were immediately drawn to the onyx ones staring into her own. It was a pale, chiseled face, illuminated by firelight and framed by the wild black hair down to wide shoulders. Shoulders that were draped in the light white fabric of an open shirt that displayed cryptic body tattoos along a sculpted torso.
She tried to take a step back but found herself frozen in place as the last time she was in his presence. This time his eyes seemed less intense, and she was able to speak, though muffled by her gag. He smiled amusingly at this and slowly released the obstruction from her mouth. Avery spit out the fuzz and bitter taste it left in her mouth.
“What was that now?” he had a lithe accent she had never heard before.
Avery returned her focus and repeated the previously muted words, “It’s you.”
“It’s me.”
“Cain, right?”
He nodded in confirmation. “Smart girl. I wouldn’t expect anything less of a Langdon though.”
Her breath caught in her throat, “How do you know my family?”
“The scent of your blood is what drew me to you that day. It is that of your ancestor. Be proud. He’s actually the last one who successfully killed me.”
“William?”
Cain nodded unenthusiastically, “Your ancestor was head of The Order when it was established; a constant thorn in my side for years. He always knew where to find me. I suspect he had higher cognitive abilities than many humans. Visions, one might call them.”
Avery bit her lip, wide-eyed.
Cain continued, “By the look on your face, I think you know what I’m talking about. It explains why your meddling was particularly bothersome. But I don’t mind the challenge.”
He was definitely a smooth talker. Avery wouldn’t be surprised if he was the devil himself. She moistened her dried lips and clicked her tongue, “So the biblical mumbo jumbo is true then?”
“Biblical mumbo…” he laughed heartily. “I like you. Well, not you per say, but your spunk. You remind me of her.”
Her?
He rocked back on his heels and thoughtfully answered her question, “Well I have only read the oldest versions of the Torah, Koran, and Christian Bible before quite a bit was changed. That is what you were referring to, yes? I was curious as to what the humans had written about me after I found out I rated inclusion. Indeed, many of the stories did happen. Generally, all of them are based in truth but manipulated to push an agenda. They always make everything so cut and dry, black and white, simple…when I know for a fact my st
ory wasn’t so simple. At least, not to me.” Cain studied her a moment, “You seem to be in pain.”
“What?” This caught Avery off guard.
“You are leaning on one side; did my men injure you badly? Have a seat,” he motioned to a small wooden chair by the alit, marble fireplace, the very chair she was dumped onto not long before. “Since I feel greatly satisfied speaking to someone who has no doubt had visions of me and is curious about my past, I will tell you my story as a special treat.”
Avery looked confusingly between the vampire and the chair. He was really nice, and it was getting really weird.
“Don’t you want to know?” His onyx eyes smiled in delight. “Come on dearie, promise I won’t bite you. You could learn a thing or two about true biblical mumbo jumbo from someone who was there firsthand. Sit.”
That intense eye contact she had experienced before was back again, mystifying her. Strangely enough, she did want to know. Avery shuffled to the chair, keeping one eye on her captor the whole time and wearily, but carefully, sat on the edge of the seat.
“Right then,” Cain started pacing the large, lavishly furnished bedroom. “I guess what’s important is not so much my childhood as the years I spent as a young man, working my arse off to feed my family every day, dawn until dusk. My mother and father were elderly, and I had quite a few useless brothers and sisters. Everyone had a daily job or task really, but I was the agriculturalist of the family. The amount of dedication and work required to grow to sustain so many; it was the hardest job by far.”
Avery arched an eyebrow at him, visibly looking him up and down.
Cain caught on and smirked at her, “I don’t look it, do I? You’d think; grungy and tan. Well, it’s true I once had a tawnier complexion. Anyway…the year of the offering was fast approaching. My siblings and I were very competitive. We were always giving each other a hard time about whose would be accepted, none more so than my closest brother and I. My little brother Abel was the favorite child of my father’s. He was arrogant and lazy at times, but he could do no wrong and was very charismatic and charming. I loved him so much that I hated it.”
Love and Bloodlust: The Sacred Objects Page 18
