Griselda’s bitterness toward her own kind after that grew and her hatred for humans was extreme, even among others in this line of work. She was a fierce adversary but her judgment was easily clouded.

  It allowed me to pace ahead of her in the rankings and naturally she was super understanding about it. Wait, did I say understanding? I meant she turned into a conniving, underhanded snake that would go to whatever ends necessary to bring me down a peg.

  Keeping an eye on her and her few associates was one round after another of spy games.

  “At least I learned some neat tricks about surveillance and strategy. I’ve always been better at hands-on learning.”

  “Is that why you were so ‘hands on’ with her fiancé?” The jealousy in his voice was unmistakable even though it had been over a hundred years ago.

  “That wasn’t my finest moment. But to be fair, he was just her boyfriend, and he started it.”

  “So it was his idea to splay you out and bang you on the War Room table just before Griselda and her cronies walked in?”

  I looked down. “No. But—”

  “Did you tell him to scream your name when he finished or was that his idea?” Adrian’s movements became agitated again and the tips of his ears began to turn red.

  “That one was all him. But I didn’t—”

  “Were you also planning on having me and Percy find you like that so we could help you fight Moreno and her team when she came at you?” He said it quietly, like he was afraid of the answer. He’d never asked me about that part of it before.

  But I’d be lying if I said that hadn’t been the plan, so I avoided his eyes and said nothing.

  “Seems like you learned a lot more about manipulation from her too.”

  It felt like the air got sucked out of my lungs before my own anger took the lead. “I said it wasn’t my finest moment. I’ve already apologized for everything else.” I was almost shouting at this point. I did a lot of things I’m not proud of, but I couldn’t take it back so what was the point of ruminating on it?

  All I could do was make amends and move forward. “What more do you want?” My eyes flicked again to the figures that were closer this time, and another two friends joined their party.

  “Nothing you could give.” He whipped his head behind him and back to me. “What the fuck are you looking at!”

  I pointed right at them. “Those cloaked assholes standing right there!”

  Adrian looked again and turned back to me with fire in his eyes. “There’s nothing there! What kind of shit are you trying to pull?”

  “You honestly don’t see them?” I screamed back at him. How was this even possible? They weren’t just in my head. Right?

  “You’re really losing it, aren’t you?” His sneer twisted his face.

  I took a step toward him. “Stop being a prick.”

  He pointed a finger at himself and looked at me like I’d sprouted a second head. “Demon.”

  Adrian turned to walk away but I grabbed his arm. “Wait, please!”

  “Dammit! What the fuck, Urquhart!” shouted Adrian, trying to wrench his arm away from me. He went stumbling backward when he broke free and fell hard. Surrounded by a tangible cloud of outrage he stalked over to me, stopping inches in front of my face.

  “Adrian, I just wanted—”

  “I don’t give a damn what you want,” he said, hissing the words. He stuck his finger in my chest and pressed down hard until I could feel his fingernail biting into my skin. The area began to heat up and a little smoke rose from the cloth until it actually caught fire.

  Jake began to bark like mad but I silenced him. “It’s alright, Jake. Let him get it out.”

  “Leave me alone, Evyn. We’re done.” He removed his finger from my still-smoldering shirt and stalked off.

  I looked after him while I patted my chest to get the flame out. When I looked there was a nice hole in the fabric and burned flesh beneath it.

  Jake whined and came up to me, licking my hand. “I’m fine, really. It’s already healing.” I watched as Adrian turned the corner and disappeared, the figures turning their heads to follow him until he was gone. As one they all turned back to face me and then they disappeared.

  We returned home just before 4 a.m. to find a note taped to the front door.

  “What now?” I asked. “Something else unpleasant, I presume?” I unlocked my door and stepped through the enchantments, locking it behind me as soon as we were inside. I took a seat at the bar and unfolded the note.

  Evyn,

  Change of plans. Our meeting will take place tonight. There is a car waiting for you outside.

  See you soon,

  Griselda

  “Shit.” It was only halfheartedly that I said it, not able to feel any one way about it right now. The impending threat hanging over my friends was in the back of my mind, but I was tempted just for a moment to let her have Adrian in exchange for the others.

  “Who needs sleep.”

  Chapter ten

  There was indeed a car waiting for me when I stepped out of my building. Son of a bitch must’ve been watching me, and I didn’t even notice. A vamp in an Armani suit pushed open the door from inside and beckoned for me to get in.

  Before I left, I’d shot Derfael a text explaining the situation, grabbed as many weapons as I could conceal comfortably and hoped she didn’t find all of them, and slipped the Eye-Spy into my ponytail tie. Jake tried to shoot through the door before I could close it behind me.

  “You have to stay here,” I said, picking him up and setting him back inside. I crouched down in front of him and gave him plenty of scratches, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time I saw him.

  “I will be back, Jake.”

  I hesitated, staring into the dark interior, and Armani hissed at me. I wiped a few flecks of spit off my jacket, took a deep breath, and climbed into the car.

  We drove through the city back to Moreno’s compound and Armani reached around me, opened the door and pushed me out while the car rolled past the curb.

  I stumbled upright and shouted after him. “Eat a bag of dicks, you leech!” He was definitely out of earshot, but it made me feel better anyway.

  The gate swung open silently as I approached. The whole compound was eerily quiet. My hackles were fully raised by the time I knocked on the door, noting the fresh paint around the hinges and the shiny new brass fittings.

  Heavy trundling footsteps introduced the doorman before I saw him. At first I didn’t know if I was staring at Kilimanjaro or a person. He smirked at my notice of his size and nodded his head in a quick motion for me to move past him and go inside.

  I tried to be conversational. “You guys get a lot of visitors? You really know how to roll out the red carpet. That driver was top notch.”

  A grunt was the only response. He grabbed a metal detector from near the door and turned back to me. “Weapons check.”

  I went through the motions, raising my arms, feet apart, watching as one by one I was divested of my weapons. But he didn’t get them all. No, I will not tell you where I was hiding them.

  We walked through the house, growing closer to the source of the sandalwood incense that permeated everything. He escorted me through a back hallway and past a narrow door. It was open just a crack and I could see stairs leading downward.

  There wasn’t enough sandalwood in the world to cover the smell of sulfur, fresh blood, and a catastrophic dose of fear.

  “You sure you guys don’t get a lot of visitors?”

  Instead of a grunt I received a toothy grin.

  He led me to a room at the back of the house and knocked on the door in a staccato of taps.

  “Enter.” I recognized the smooth alto voice even though it had been at least fifty years since we’d had a run-in.

  The man-mountain opened the door and stepped back, allowing me to pass through. As soon as I was inside, he shut the door quickly behind me.

  “Afraid I’m going to run?” I asked the chair in front of me, turned so that I could only see the back of it. “If you turn around with a cat in your lap, I’m going right out that window.”

  A fat white cat jumped down from what I could only assume was Moreno’s lap and went sprinting off out another side door.

  Griselda swiveled around in her chair, picking absentmindedly at cat fur on her expensive cashmere sweater. “Always so critical.”

  She appraised me with bright eyes and rosy cheeks. She’d just fed.

  “One of your many character flaws. I’m sure the others haven’t improved either.” A sneer twisted her perfectly painted bow of a mouth and I caught a flash of fang.

  “And you’ve still got all your arrogance and holier-than-thou posturing. There’s just a little more dried blood on your teeth now.”

  Her lips snapped shut and I knew she was resisting checking her teeth in the mirror behind her.

  Vampires do have reflections, I’m not sure where the idea came from that they didn’t. Their eyes are giant black orbs when reflected though so it certainly makes them easier to pick out if you’re unsure.

  “Please,” Moreno said, motioning at the chairs facing her desk, “take a seat.”

  I checked out the cushy black chair across from her and didn’t see anything suspicious about it, so I sat down. It was so plush that I sank into it to the point of my feet not touching the floor.

  Moreno watched my struggle to free myself from its grip with catlike attention until I finally succeeded, perching myself on the edge.

  I readjusted my twisted jacket and brushed hair from my face as I tried to maintain my dignity from that classic power move she’d just pulled.

  “Just for the record, if you threaten my friends again, I won’t be so civil about our next meeting.” Nice, Evyn, way to play it cool.

  Griselda just laughed with a light sound that made you wonder if you even heard it. “I had no intention of any ill will. I was just giving you some incentive to show up.” She rested a hand on the desk in front of her, nail tips down. They were filed to points and painted an acid green that set off perfectly against her light-brown skin and silver hair.

  “Right.”

  She drummed her nails once against the desk before she sat back and steepled her fingers under her chin. “Now, I want to get this out of the way before we get started.” Griselda cleared her throat. “When my dear Havoc played… host… to you, it was not on my orders.”

  “Funny. That’s not what she said.” I rubbed my chin like I was trying to remember the very vivid memory of her words. “I believe she said ‘I promised my mistress that you would suffer and that is exactly what you will do.’” I shrugged. “Or something like that.”

  Moreno tried her best at an apologetic smile. It looked painful.

  “I assure you, I said no such thing.”

  “Oh. Well, that settles it then.” I stared at her, face impassive.

  Griselda growled low in her throat before doing a 180-degree turn. “Would you care for a drink? This is a special tea blend I just received from family. It’s very good.”

  “I figured your family would’ve disowned you after your transformation. I thought they hated vampires just as much as they hated humans?”

  Her face faltered and she fought with her rage, eyes blazing. I shifted my weight and prepared to move quickly.

  “They were less than pleased, but they’ve come to realize it was a good move on my part.” She motioned to the tea set. “Now, would you like to try some?”

  I looked at her, dubious.

  “It’s not poison, I promise.”

  “But it’s from Faerie. I’ll pass. I’m more of a coffee person anyway.”

  “Oh. In that case,” she said, motioning to her left behind me where a person melted out of the shadows that I hadn’t even sensed. Moreno noticed my unnerved expression and smiled, less tooth and more vindication. “Chester, would you bring us some coffee?”

  “Happily, madam.” The Lurch-like character stalked away out a door that I hadn’t seen either.

  She took another sip of her tea and got very still and stared at me with the unblinking, unwavering eye contact only the dead, and undead, are capable of. Thankfully her porter came back with a tray of coffee and fixin’s about then and broke the tension.

  He set the tray next to me and I reluctantly poured myself a cup. A sniff and tentative taste revealed nothing more than just plain coffee.

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re very welcome.”

  I shook my head. “Cut the shit. Why are you being so pleasant? You already sent an assassin after me—”

  “A messenger,” she clarified.

  “Right. Whatever you want to call it, you reintroduced yourself by blowing up my quiet life and threatening violence. You didn’t just bring me here to chat.”

  “Can’t I just want to reconnect with an old rival? Talk about our younger selves?”

  “No. If you wanted to do that, I would have settled for one of your creepy handwritten notes. We could’ve been great penpals. But now I’m here, you’re up to something and I’m not fooled by any of this.” I waved my hands at the tray of coffee.

  Derfael wanted direct. I can do direct. A small movement in the corner of my eye caught my attention, something outside the window. Guards?

  Griselda noticed my gaze. “Did you see something?” She was disinterested. If she was that unconcerned, it must have been guards.

  “My eyes are playing tricks on me I guess.”

  “Since you want to get straight to the point”—she rose to her feet and crossed to a display cabinet—“I’d like to address the rumors going around. I know you’ve been looking into things.”

  “Like you wanted.”

  She licked her lips and smirked. The cabinet she stopped in front of wasn’t filled with weapons like the others. The shelves were mostly empty except for a few items that looked like she got them from a cheap knock-off retailer of “old world” decor.

  She motioned for me to join her, and I cautiously moved across the room, positioning myself beside and slightly behind her at least three arm-lengths away. It wouldn’t give me much time for defense if she attacked but it would be enough to block most anything.

  “What have you heard so far?”

  “A dig site, artifacts of interest, the slaughter of the archaeological team, and something about wanting to release the Ancients.” I lingered on that last bit.

  “Ancients?” She turned to me with absolute disbelief on her face and she really sold it. “What kind of ridiculous bullshit is that?”

  “Word on the street.”

  “Worthless. The more sensational the better, that’s how it is with rumors.” She batted a hand at the air and turned back to the cabinet. “Although I wish it were possible. It would certainly make things easier.”

  “Then how did those rumors get started?”

  “Haven’t the foggiest. I may have said something in indiscreet company, wishful thinking that planted the seed for that nonsense.”

  “Then what are your plans?”

  “The same as they’ve always been. Securing the future of the Strangefells.”

  “Gross.” I pulled a face. “There’s never been a reasonable word uttered after someone says a sentence like that.”

  She laughed darkly. “Evyn, I’ve never denied who I was. What my aims are. If anyone here needs to take a step back and examine their life, it’s you.”

  I raised my eyebrows and invited her to go on.

  “You used to be a force of nature. I was actually jealous of the kind of power you commanded the minute you walked into a room. The fear people felt. The pressure they were under to impress you, to make themselves useful.”

  She folded her arms and popped a hip out to the side, leaning against the cabinet. “You miss it. Whatever you’re trying to do with this charade won’t work.”

  “It’s not a charade.” I shook my head. “This conversation isn’t even about me. Let’s get back to the important topics.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short, Evyn. I think you are far more interesting than anything else we might talk about tonight.”

  Her green eyes drew me in and I could feel myself falling under her thrall. I ripped my eyes away and turned my head.

  “Evyn?” I could hear the smile in her voice. “What’s the matter?”

  I was breathing hard, fists clenched as I tried to collect myself.

  “That shouldn’t even be possible.”

  “What—”

  I whipped around and punched Griselda in the face. Her head barely moved and the self-satisfied smirk never wavered.

  “I found there were a lot of enhancements after the change. There’s something very potent in the mixture of fae and vampire blood. Many rules no longer apply.” She bobbed her head around trying to catch my gaze again. “Including the thrall gaze not being effective on mages.”

  She ducked her head close to peer into my eyes and I put a little extra sauce on the uppercut I threw at her. This time her head snapped back and she snarled, stopping herself from lunging at me.

  “Keep trying that shit and I’ll gouge your fucking eyes out,” I hissed.

  Like watching a body snatcher put on its new skin, Moreno rolled her neck a couple times and her body language changed from the feet up, ending in that pleasant hostess mask sliding closed over the monster that lurked underneath.

  “My, we do have a way of riling each other up, don’t we?” She walked stiffly over to her desk and ensconced herself in her wingback chair, gripping the chair arms.

  I stayed on my feet, ready to move at the slightest provocation. My eyes wandered to the window again and I saw a shoulder covered in a deep black shirt, so black an untrained eye wouldn’t have seen it. Whoever it was, was hiding just out of sight watching our interaction.

  “Look, I don’t think it’s a secret that my organization dabbles in some things with questionable legality. No matter how this shakes out I don’t see that changing in the slightest. But the things we’ve been discovering at these archaeological sites”—she motioned to the cabinet—“they are truly fascinating. There are so many things we can learn from them. Maybe even make a regular deal out of reclaiming lost artifacts from Strangefells history.”

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23