I looked to Anna then, searching her face for the inevitable signs of disgust, of hatred. Surely he was keeping her against her will, a prisoner to do his dirty work. To help him on his jobs, with whatever special powers she possessed. She couldn’t possibly be with him willingly, knowing what he’d done to me, to her, to all the other girls. And his senseless killing, both for blood as well as his whole assassination gig.
But I didn’t see it.
No anger, no fear. Only a slight smile as she looked from him to me. Like all of this was… amusing.
“Anna.” It came out with all the heartbrokenness I felt, all the agony. A question, a plea. And for once I didn’t care how weak it made me sound. I needed her to hear me, truly hear me.
“No, no,” Alexander said, waggling his finger at me. “This is not sister bonding time. I only brought you here so you’d see that I still have the upper hand in our little situation. Besides, we have company. Someone has rudely interrupted our sweet reunion.”
I looked over my shoulder to see Eli standing in the doorway. I didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, but the look on his face said he’d heard enough. His eyes met mine in a look of sympathy, but then they widened, and his mouth parted in a yell.
I spun around as Alexander grabbed me and everything went black.
A moment later we were standing in the room again. Scratch that, a cave of some sorts.
Alexander let go of me abruptly, causing me to wobble on my feet. “Do you like my meditation cave?”
Holy shit—Alexander could move through the dimensional pathways like Eli? “Where are we?” I growled, looking around. The place was all lit up with candles. Oddly unsettling.
“A little place in the Himalayas. I come here to think things over. It’s very relaxing, being up here in the mountains near all these Buddhist monasteries. And the monks are just scrumptious, you really ought to try one before you leave.” His blue eyes danced. “You should be honored, I’ve never brought anyone here before.”
“I’m not honored. You’re a piece of shit. What have you done to my sister?” I started toward him, raising my sword.
In a flash he had my sword in his hands, the tip at my throat. “I am leading this conversation, Zyan,” he said, his tone cold. “Now shut up and listen.” His smile returned and he stepped away, then tossed my sword back to me. He began to pace slowly in the flickering light. “I brought you here to explain the rules of our game. Because it is a game, Zyan. This entire thing. You were a game, Anna’s a game, the HR, all of it. Not to use the seniority card again, but if you had been alive for over two thousand years, wouldn’t you want to find ways to keep life interesting?”
“Not like you do,” I said, shaking with cold fury.
“Really? I guess you’ll have to wait and see. If you survive this whole ordeal. Which I really hope you do, darling.” He smiled, throwing all his charm into it.
I remembered the first time I’d seen that smile, and I felt like I was going to throw up. If only I’d known what lay behind its gold…
“But,” he continued. “If you keep making me angry, I can’t make any promises.”
“Me? What have I done to you?” My hand tightened on my katana. His eyes darted down. He hadn’t missed it.
“Well, you want me dead. That’s not very nice, now is it?” Alexander crossed his arms over his chest and pouted his lips at me.
“It’s revenge, fair and square,” I retorted. “You took my soul, I take your life. Actually, that’s more than fair. Besides, you were the one that showed up in my city.”
“I didn’t take your soul. Olga did that, technically.” His eyes glinted.
“Because of you.” It took all I had not to launch myself at him.
“Semantics, darling,” he said with a toss of his hand. “It’s not my fault you fell for a scoundrel.”
I decided to ignore that last bit. Since we both knew vampires had more than ample powers of persuasion. “Why did you turn my sister?” I tried to keep my voice steady. I failed.
Alexander sighed. “I’m sure what you really want to know is why I stayed with her, why I’m still with her, when I left you. Right?” He grinned in enjoyment. “Like I said, it’s all part of the game. It’s your fault really. You see, what I love the most is corrupting the girls, before I even turn them. But you, you just wouldn’t be corrupted, even though I worked on you for months. I could feel your goodness, your purity, completely intact. Even when you finally slept with me, it was only because you loved me so much. Just so completely boring.” He let out another dramatic sigh.
“So that’s when the plan began to form in my mind. You’d talked so much about your dear, beloved kid sister, the only one you had. I just had to see if this stubborn goodness was a family thing. I had to wait a few years, of course, since she was only ten when you turned into a soulsucker and left her all alone. So, while you were off doing God knows what, I played the rich businessman who came by the house to visit with your uncle. Since you slaughtered your father and all. And of course, I brought beautiful, expensive toys for young Anna. I was there for her when you weren’t.”
I felt like throwing up again. I didn’t want to hear any more, but I had to. I had to know.
“So, she got older, and one thing led to another. Oh, and she was corruptible. It’s not a family trait after all.” His smile was its most wicked now, and I wanted nothing more than to run my blade through his body over and over again. “Anna is so much more fun than you. And with those nifty powers of hers, she’s proven quite useful. We made sure to run in different circles than you, so her existence remained a secret. Because of course, that was part of the game, too. The look on your face was well worth the two hundred years I’ve waited for it.”
I raised my sword up. I’d heard enough now.
“Yes. You want to kill me. Go ahead and try. Free shot.” He lifted his arms up in a gesture of surrender.
In a flash I was on him, my blade singing through the damp air. He dodged, which I expected, so I spun back around. But he was already on the other side of the cave. Damn, he was fast. Again I flew at him, and this time he stayed for a moment, blocking my jabs and slices with his hands, before knocking me flat on my back. I leapt back to my feet and flew at him again. Our movements were a blur. I didn’t think I’d ever moved this fast, but still he was faster. As I arced my blade in a tight circle toward his neck, he whipped it out of my hands and stabbed it into my chest, right below my heart. I gasped and dropped to my knees.
Alexander looked down at me, his expression pure ice. “You can’t beat me Zyan. And that’s the final card I wanted to reveal to you. Just so you know what you’re up against.” He leaned down, grabbing the hilt of my sword and twisting it in deeper. I bit back a cry. “If you keep up this job for the HR, I’ll be forced to kill you. And then our fun little game will be over.”
He straightened back up, smiling at the pain in my eyes. “I think I’ll leave you here to think about what I’ve said. In the meantime, while you’re trying to figure out how to get from the Himalayas to Seattle, I might visit that little witch friend of yours. She really does look like a tasty treat.”
I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off. “Don’t bother with threats. We both know you’re in no position to back them up.” And with that, he waved goodbye and vanished.
I wrapped my hands around the blade and pulled it out. Dark blood soaked my chest, my jeans, even the floor of the cave. I ripped open my shirt and watched my skin seam back together. It hurt like hell. I got up and walked to the mouth of the cave. A wash of stars coated the sky like spilled milk. I took a deep breath of the chilly mountain air, which tasted of snow. And then I screamed.
I screamed my rage, and my sadness, and my aloneness. I screamed for my soul, and for my sister’s soul. I screamed my burning desire for revenge, and every ounce of my pain with it. I screamed for all the years, those that had passed and those that would come.
I hadn’t gone look
ing for him. Though I’d hated him for what he’d done, I’d let it go. Long after the love faded away, and I’d learned of his games. Even when I began to despise the memory of him, I’d gone on with my life. Tried to find what happiness I could.
But now.
Now he’d come to my city. Purposefully. To torture me with the knowledge of my sister, and watch my pain. Now he’d truly gone too far. I could not stand for it. I didn’t know how I was going to stop him, but I would do anything to achieve my goal. Anything. If I spent the next millennia of my life hunting him, I would do it.
First though, I had to get off this fucking mountain. If he hurt Quinn, I’d never forgive myself. He’d said it himself. It was my fault he’d chosen Anna. Now he was after Quinn. As long as he lived, he’d hunt the people I loved, just to entertain himself. I didn’t have time to hike down out of this wilderness and find an airport. I needed to cut between dimensions, like Eli did. And apparently Alexander. If Alexander could do it, I could. Plus, Eli had said it was odd I could even see the space between, meaning I already had a leg up.
I didn’t have any idea how to get there. So I closed my eyes and envisioned what it had looked like. The blackness. Not solid, but kind of like clouds of ink, moving and alive. And the white lights, like coral or lace or tree roots. The feeling, too. I remembered the feeling in my gut, being squeezed for just a moment into nothing, the weightlessness, like I could just float away in the jet black abyss…
My eyes popped open. Shit! I was there. Wherever that was. I hadn’t expected it to be this easy. Now I just needed to get from here to where I wanted to go. I envisioned my apartment. I tried to feel that tight squeeze again that told me I was moving between dimensions.
Nothing happened.
Shit, shit, shit! I just drifted, moving on some invisible interdimensional breeze. I tried not to panic. I seriously doubted that would help. But what was going to happen now? Would I drift here forever? That was a really long time for an immortal. Hell, it’d be an agonizingly long time even if I were just human.
I was drifting toward one of the lacey things, and somehow I felt it would be bad if I touched it. I didn’t know why, but some instinct in my gut told me something dreadful would happen. I tried to move away from it, moving my arms and legs in a swimming motion, but to no avail. My heart started hammering in my chest.
Then something else white started moving toward me. An angel. Eli. He seemed especially glowy, something I hadn’t noticed the other times we’d traveled here, probably because I’d been mashed up against his body. I felt such a wave of relief I thought I might cry. He reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me against his chest. His heart seemed to be pounding, too. And then I blinked and we were standing in my apartment.
We stood for a moment, arms wrapped tightly around each other. Then I felt the rise of his chest as he took in a breath, and I extricated myself, feeling awkward. Which was a ridiculous thing to feel. I never felt awkward. “Thanks, Eli. I was, uh, pretty much up a creek without a paddle before you came along.”
“What were you doing in there anyways? Did Alexander leave you there?” His brow furrowed, and he looked both concerned and angry. His expression became even more angry when I told him what had happened.
“So, you actually got into the between space yourself?” Eli’s eyes held disbelief.
“Yeah. Alexander just left me in the cave, and said he was going to—” I jumped up. “Shit—Quinn! He said he was going to find her, and—”
“Calm down, Zy. She’s with two dozen angels and shapeshifters. She’ll be fine.” He took my shoulders. “It’s you I’m worried about.”
“You’re sure she’s fine?” He nodded reassuringly. I sighed and shuddered. “Eli, what are those white things in the between space?”
“They stabilize things. The space between dimensions is very unstable, especially with different beings popping in and out all over the place.”
“So if I had crashed into one of them?” I bit my lip.
“It would have caused a major interdimensional shift. That often translates into an earthquake or tsunami on earth.”
“It’s a good thing you came along when you did, then.” I leaned back on the sofa, suddenly feeling very tired. “How did you find me, anyways?”
He leaned back too, and turned his head to the side to look at me. “I kind of figured Alexander was just going to drop you somewhere in there. How he even knows how to travel that way is another question. But anyways, after you two disappeared, Anna took off, and I jumped into the between space and started surfing around trying to find you. I’d been in there for a while when—” He stopped.
“When what?” I pressed.
“I kind of felt you pop into the between space.” I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t know how. I guess you have a unique aura or something.”
I laughed. “Okay. I’ll take your word for it.”
We were quiet for a few moments. “So, your sister…” Eli trailed off. “I’m sorry, Zy.”
I felt tears needling the corners of my eyes. “Yeah. I just can’t believe she would willingly stay with him.”
“Wouldn’t you have?” His tone was gentle.
I opened my mouth, then closed it again. “Yes. But I would never have taken his side against her.” Of course though, she hadn’t killed our father. My chest felt tight.
“I’m sure he’s told her all sorts of lies. He’s had two centuries to manipulate her.”
“I guess.” I looked up at the ceiling, feeling the full weight of my misery pressing down on me.
“You need to get her alone,” Eli said. “Tell her your side of the story.”
I looked at him, fighting a roll of my eyes. “Do you really think that’s going to work?”
He held my gaze. “You’ve got to try. Because otherwise, she’s going down as an accessory to attempted assassination of the HR.”
I felt like he’d just punched me in the gut. That horrible possibility hadn’t dawned on me yet. But of course he was right. It was out of my hands—the NHTF was involved now. If Anna got caught, she’d spend a very long time in one of their special prisons for supernaturals. I’d heard they were awful. They had these injections to suppress a supe’s natural powers, but they took away more than that. The supes that got the injections usually ended up in more or less of a vegetative state, with practically no mental or physical control of themselves.
“Maybe I can get her to help us track him down. If she provided valuable intel, they’d make a deal with her, right?” My voice sounded desperate even to my own ears.
Eli didn’t meet my eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe.” He sighed. “It would certainly go over better than if she resists.”
Another silence fell between us. As I opened my mouth to say something, Quinn and Riley came through the front door.
“Zy! What happened?” Quinn called, heading toward me.
“I’m too tired to talk about it now, okay?”
Quinn’s eyes flicked to Eli, as if debating whether he would let her pump him for info. “Are you crashing here?” she asked him.
He looked over to me before turning to Quinn, then said, “Thank you, but no. I need to get back to headquarters.”
“You know, you’ve got to sleep at some point, too,” I said in a chastising tone.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” A slight smile turned up his lips.
After he left I took a quick shower and climbed into bed. I couldn’t sleep, though. I felt restless and anxious, and as I tried to pinpoint the source, it suddenly hit me. Doubt.
I hadn’t had any reason to doubt anything in a very, very long time. I was good at the things I did, whether it was making a cocktail or tracking down a rogue werewolf. But now I’d come up against something that seemed beyond my skills. Alexander. He was so old. He’d shown me clearly I was no match for him. And this time, it wasn’t simply my personal pride on the line. There were lives at stake. The HR’s. Quinn and Riley. Donovan and his crew. My siste
r. Even Eli.
Everyone expected me to be the magic fix to this problem. The HR had picked me specifically, when he had a whole legion of angels at his disposal. But what if I couldn’t save the day? What if I couldn’t do anything but watch these horrible events unfold?
The sun was hours old when I finally succumbed to sleep.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Subsequently, I felt fairly grouchy when I awoke a couple hours after sunset. This fact wasn’t lessened when I walked into the living room to find a bunch of shapeshifters, including a particular panther.
“Uh, hi,” I said groggily. “Make yourselves at home.”
“Riley and Dan let us in,” Donovan retorted cheerfully.
I looked across the room to see Riley and Dan sitting together on the couch. Dan had been here last night, too, after I got back from my little visit with Alexander. And come to think of it, he’d also been here before, when half the city was guarding my apartment after I’d gotten jumped in the alley. I hid a smile and headed to the kitchen for some Fruit Loops. “Anybody want anything?”
“I’m kinda hungry,” Donovan called as I walked off.
Next thing I knew the stovetop was covered in skillets and about half a meat market worth of bacon, sausage and ham was sizzling away. “Why are you here anyways?” I asked, leaving Riley and Dan to attend to the cooking.
Donovan pointed to the papers spread out on my coffee table. “Me and the crew are just making lists of possible hiding places for Alexander, dividing the city into search quadrants, and figuring out which informants we’re going to call.”
I eyed the half dozen other shifters sprawled out over the living room. Huh. They hadn’t really struck me as the plan-ahead types. “Alright. Well, it wouldn’t kill you to call ahead next time.”
He smiled. “I left you a message.”
I narrowed my eyes and went to grab my cell phone. Sure enough, its sleek black exterior had turned to red, and when I picked it up a little hologram of Donovan popped up, telling me he was on his way with a couple friends. Man, I must have been dead asleep.
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