Ice trickled through my veins. “What do you want to keep your mouth shut?”
He balked. “You misunderstand me. I have no intention of exposing you. I couldn’t care less about your secret. What I do care about is what’s happening to this town and the spirits that call it their home. There’s a presence here. I’ve been tracking it for several days, but I can’t seem to get a hold on it. It’s been feeding off the spirits, sapping them and … killing them.”
Wait what? “How can you kill something that’s already dead?”
“Ghosts are energy that remains when the body encasing it expires. Whatever is out there is feeding on this energy, burning through it, and once that energy is gone …”
“The ghost is dead,” Henri finished.
“Precisely. I need your help to find out what we’re dealing with.”
“Already on it.” I smiled up at him. “I believe the riders are involved.”
His brows shot up. “Go on.”
“They’re kidnapping humans. I wasn’t sure why, but now I think it must be for this man in a hat.”
His mouth pursed. “Where did you hear that name?”
“The bar lady, just before she vanished.”
Something akin to anger crossed his handsome features. “It can’t be. The man in the hat is a myth. A story people told their children to get them to sleep.”
“Well, I obviously missed that one.”
He licked his lips. “No one knows what he is or where he came from, but there have been accounts of him throughout history. The shadow on the wall, the monster under the bed, the creature in the closet. He exists in a place beyond walking and dreams, a place beyond nightmares.”
“What does he want?” Henri asked.
The reaper shrugged. “I have no idea.”
“How do we stop him?”
“By finding the humans.” My mind was making connections, working on the problem the way I’d been trained to. “He’s using the riders to get him humans and using the ghosts for energy to maybe, I don’t know, tether himself here. Scorchwood is a powerful place with all the ley lines. But why? What does he want?”
The reaper looked impressed. “Yes. I figured that much out, but not why he’d want the humans.”
“We’re working on it,” Henri said.
“Care to share?” His tone was light, but his expression was serious.
“I have a friend doing some research into rituals that involve the use of thirteen humans.”
His mouth turned down, and he nodded. “Good plan. I’ll dig around too. Let me know what you find.”
“That’s great, but how do we find you?”
He gave me a close-lipped smile. “I’ll find you.” He turned and began to saunter off. “And stay away from the riders. I may not be there to save your skin the next time.”
He merged with the shadows and was gone.
“I don’t like him,” Henri said softly.
I looked sharply at him. “Care to elaborate.”
Henri was still staring at the spot where the reaper had vanished. “His hair doesn’t move in the breeze. It’s odd.”
“He collects souls for a living. I think odd is in his nature. Come on, let’s get back to Tris. See what she’s found and then head back to the house.” I peered surreptitiously at my mobile phone and the many texts from Jay ordering me back to the mansion. He was probably pissed I’d gone off without checking in, and he had every right to be, but there was no way I could explain why to him. I’d have to take the ear-bashing and bite my tongue.
Urgh. Getting chewed out sucked.
* * *
Jay looked pissed, as in steam-might-come-out-of-his-nose pissed. So far, I’d seen his calm, collected persona, but right now he was spitting nails. The study was saturated with tension, and flashbacks of being berated by Gramps assaulting my brain. No. Not a kid anymore. Yes, I’d deliberately gone off without telling them where, but I was a grown-ass adult, a Nightblood with training and years of experience. As much as I’d promised myself to just take the ear-bashing, now that it was in progress, every instinct told me to fight back.
Problem was, I had no ammunition, not unless I revealed the truth about my abilities.
“Is this how you operate at Ravensheart?” Jay asked for the third time. “Is this what you do, just stroll off to whatever sector suits you and fail to liaise with the rest of the team? You ignored ten text messages. I had Mai and Kris out searching for you; we thought the worst.”
Okay, breathe. “I’m sorry if we worried you.”
“What the hell makes you think you can get away with this behavior?”
Oh, man, that tone, sharp and accusatory and patronizing. Urgh. Stay contrite.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think, just needed to get out there and get to work. I’m worried about my gramps.”
Which was true, and the sincerity must have shone through because his shoulders sagged as if the hot air had seeped out of him. He sighed and then perched his butt on the edge of his desk.
“Mai said you knew the weaver who was killed.” His tone had softened.
“He was a friend of the family.”
Jay’s jaw tightened, and his warm honey eyes darkened in sympathy. “I’m sorry for your loss. But you can’t lose focus here. If you need a day or two off to go home, then—”
“No.” I held up a hand. That was the last thing Gramps would want. He’d been very specific about me staying away. “I’m fine. This won’t happen again.”
He was studying me carefully, his gaze hot on my face. “You’ll work with Kris tomorrow night.”
I bit back a curse. I needed to get Tris back to the bookstore for more research. Luther was ordering in books for her to peruse and there was no way I could do that with Kris shadowing my every move. I’d have to figure something out. Smile and nod, Kat, smile and nod.
“No problem.”
“And Mai the night after,” he added.
“Got it.”
His eyes narrowed. “You may be used to working with Henri, but you need to remember that he’s a construct, a golem, and not capable of making the hairbreadth decisions that an autonomous being can. When it comes down to it, he can’t have your back like Kris or Mai can.”
Anger flickered to life inside me like a Roman candle. “Let me stop you there. You have no idea how Henri and I work. You have no idea how many times he’s saved my ass. Maybe if you came out of your office once in a while and actually did some fieldwork, you’d see how well he operates under threat.”
Jay’s face shut down, and he stood. “That will be all.”
His tone was ice, but fuck him. He had no right to disrespect Henri like that. I left him and his stony expression, just managing to resist the temptation to slam the door behind me.
I’d do what he asked, and I’d get Tris to the bookstore. I’d fucking do it all because there was no other choice. There was a threat out there that no one but me and my crew knew about, and if I had to suck up his barbs while getting the job done, then so be it.
We’d hopefully have the information we needed in the next couple of days, and then this man in the hat was going down.
Chapter Fifteen
The gloom and dankness of the basement was a welcome blanket as I pulled open the hatch and peered into the shadows beyond.
“Back again, raspberry girl?” The fomorian’s voice was a welcome aggravation to my senses, and every synapse was suddenly on high alert.
Keep it nonchalant. “I thought you might like the company.”
He inhaled sharply. “Liar.”
Shit. Had I just fed him? Crap. Okay, less cocky, Kat. Think before you speak.
He hadn’t lit a candle today but remained in the dark. “Why are you awake, little Nightblood?”
He knew what I was, and he sounded genuinely curious why I was down there, not that I could answer the question, not when I didn’t know myself. Henri was pushing for me to tell Tris. But it wasn’t an option, not w
hile her brain was working on solving our man in the hat problem; she needed to focus, and if she found out I was waking up every day, then she’d switch to focusing on fixing that instead. But with Vinod gone, that fix wouldn’t be easy.
“I don’t need much sleep.”
He sucked in a breath. “Mmmm, that was bite-sized but sweet.”
Shit, I’d just given him another lie. Fuck.
“Keep talking, please.” There was amusement in his tone. “The ones who live beneath a mask are the most delicious, they tell many little lies without even realizing it. It’s like a banquet of hors d’oeuvres.”
This was a bad idea, so what was I doing down here? Why was I staring into the dark, hoping to catch a glimpse of him? This was madness.
The shadows shifted as he moved across the room, closer to the hatch, and every hair on my body stood to attention. I wanted to touch him. To reach through the hatch and caress his inked skin. I could see it clearly in my mind’s eye, smooth and taut and velvet.
God, I was losing my mind.
“I need to go.”
I made to shut the hatch, but the space in front of me was suddenly filled with a pair of kohl-rimmed eyes that were pale red streaked with amber, so it looked like lightning was striking his pupils. His lashes were thick and black, and his brows two harsh lines above his eyes. His gaze tracked across my face and settled on my mouth.
“Come closer, Nightblood. Let me see if you taste as good as you smell.”
I inched forward before stopping myself by slamming the flat of my palm against the metal door. Shit, what the heck?
He laughed, a gravelly rumble as I backed up.
“Don’t forget to close the hatch,” he taunted.
I took a step forward and reached out to grasp the knob attached to the hatch.
“Will you come and see me again?” There was something else in his tone now, a hint of vulnerability.
My instinct was to say no, but that would be a lie. “Yes.”
And then I slid the hatch closed.
* * *
My made-up face stared back at me from the mirror—sparkly eye shadow and mascara-swept lashes. Jay had given us the night off. After the week we’d had, we deserved it. We’d taken down a gang of bastardized fey with leprechaun blood who’d been granting dodgy wishes to humans in exchange for gold, another attack of huggers in the same spot, a rogue Nightblood peddling fang venom which to humans was like a fucking drug, and last night another hellion who’d appeared in the same field as the lovers last week. Kris found the thinning they’d come through, a tiny crack but enough to allow them entrance. A weaver had been summoned to fix it.
When I couldn’t, Henri had dropped Tris to the bookstore. Glory had taken to joining her, and they worked through the books together. Luther was helping too. But with no joy finding any information on the man in the hat or the rituals he might need humans to complete, and no word from Gramps, I was more than ready for some non-thinking time. At least if I was downing shots and dancing, then I wasn’t feeding the worry ulcer that was growing steadily in my belly.
“A new shipment of books arrives tonight,” Tris said. “Can you drop me off before you head out?”
She’d been working nonstop for the past four days. She needed a rest. “You need to chill tonight, Tris. Take a night off.”
She shook her head. “No. I need to find more information on this shadow man. The references we’ve come across are vague at best, only a line here or there in mention of him, and the rituals that require humans are too many. If only we knew what he wanted, we could narrow things down.” She slid off the bed. “Drop me off, please.”
I sighed and put down the curling iron I’d just used to give myself soft waves. “Fine.”
There was a tap on the door, and then Mai popped her head around. “You ready?”
“I’ll meet you there. I got to run an errand first.”
“Anything I can help with?”
“Nope. But thank you.”
It was obvious from the look on her face that she wanted to press the issue, but even though we’d spent a ton of time together over the past week, we weren’t there yet. Honestly, we probably would never be. I’d never been the girly hangout kind of Nightblood.
“No problem, see you there. We have a VIP booth, and your name will be at the door.”
She left, and I turned to Tris. “Keep a watch out the window; as soon as they leave, we’ll go.”
I headed to my closet to find an outfit to go with my glittery eyes and wavy hair.
I’d just finished zipping up the mid-thigh dress when there was another knock at the door.
“They just left,” Tris called from the window.
“Come in.”
We spoke at the same time.
Henri entered in full supe glamour—blond hair combed back and tucked behind his ears, bluer-than-baby-blues sparkling, and body encased in a torso-loving black tee. Dark blue denim hugged his thighs, but he was still wearing his kick-the-shit-out-of-you boots. He looked … good. Really good, and for a moment it was easy to imagine he was flesh and blood. That he was real.
His eyes were on me, on the dress, on my legs bare and toned, and my feet snug in cute ankle boots. Was he staring too long? Or was that me?
“You ready?” he asked, unaffected.
I swallowed to moisten my mouth. “Yep. You didn’t go with the others?”
He gave me a flat look. “And if I did, who’d drive you?”
He had a point. I really did need to learn to drive, but being behind the wheel with control of a metal machine always made me seize up. Give me a dagger, a dark night, and a beastie, and I happily slipped into ninja mode.
“Thanks.” I grabbed my favorite leather jacket and shrugged it on over the shift dress before picking up Tris. “Let’s jet.”
* * *
Henri steered the Fiat through the night streets toward the center of town. A slip road connected the quieter side of Scorchwood to the nightlife center. He was silent, almost broody, one hand on the wheel, eyes on the road.
I rested my head back on my seat. Gramps hadn’t been in touch yet. There’d been no snippets of news in the Secret Eye or the Nightwatch Bulletin. In fact, the bulletin hadn’t even announced the death of the weaver. It was shady and secretive, and my stomach cramped every time I thought about it.
Gramps had shielded me, taught me how to hide my true nature—whatever that might be. He’d saved my life. No one liked to dwell on it because it belied the sophisticated nature of the Nightblood empire, but my people killed innocents to preserve their bloodline. They put babies to sleep if they proved to be less than pure Nightblood. My grandfather’s influence had allowed him to manipulate the results of my infant tests, and the death of my mother’s close friend—male and a Nightblood—had silenced speculation as to my paternal heritage, but the truth was, no one knew who my father was. Not even Gramps and my mother … she’d been in a coma ever since giving birth to me. She didn’t age, she didn’t atrophy, and Gramps pretended he was infusing her with blood, but she didn’t need it. We kept her at home, cared for by loyal feyblood staff bound to secrecy. What would happen to her if anything happened to Gramps?
If only there was some way to know for sure that he was okay?
“Your gramps will be fine,” Henri said. “He’s a wily man. If he has gotten into some trouble, he’ll find his way out of it.”
“That’s just it. I don’t think it’s him who’s in trouble, I think it’s me. I think he might be protecting me … again.”
Henri’s hands tightened on the wheel. “You believe your secret is out?”
“I don’t know.”
He pondered this for a moment. “It would explain the sudden order to transfer here, to a town that no one seems to know about. It explains why he asked us to leave without telling anyone.”
“It also explains why he’s asked me not to contact him.” I twisted in my seat to face Henri, suddenly agitated. “I can�
�t help but feel I need to go to him. I need to help him. If this is about me, then … I can’t let him take the fall.”
Henri swung the car sharply toward the side of the road and cut the engine. He turned to me, his eyes gleaming in the street lights. “Do you want to die, Kat? Because if this is about you, if you go back, they will kill you.”
Panic squeezed my throat. “And if I don’t, they’ll kill him.”
“And he would gladly make that sacrifice to see you live.”
I stared at him. “What? How can you say that?”
“It’s what he would want.”
“You can’t possibly … Wait, did he speak to you? Did he tell you what was happening?”
Henri’s expression was closed. “No. But before we left for Ravensheart, he told me to keep you alive at all costs. At all costs. Even his life.”
Typical Gramps. “Yeah? Well, I can’t do that. If he’s in danger, then—”
“You both die,” Henri cut in. “If you go there now, if this is about you, then you both risk being executed, and your gramps’s sacrifices over the years to protect you would have been for nothing.”
God. I buried my face in my hands. “I hate this.”
“I know.” He sighed. “I’m sorry.”
Going to a club was the last thing I wanted to do now. But Mai and Kris would be waiting, and if we didn’t turn up, there’d be questions, more fucking questions and more lies to cover it all up.
I settled back in my seat. “Let’s just get tonight over with.”
Henri started the engine, and we were off.
* * *
Cryptic Gods was the same club where we’d had the altercation with the riders because it was the only decent club in town. The queue was a python snaking down the street, but this time there would be no need to use suggestion to get in, not that it worked on the bouncer anyway.
Mai had said she’d left our names at the door.
I clipped up the queue, past disgruntled-looking potential patrons to the front where the VIP rope hung lax between two gold posts. The same huge guy was at the door, and he stood straighter as we approached, his bored expression slipping into one of interest.
A Ghost of a Chance: The Nightwatch book 1 Page 12