“Don’t talk about things you don’t understand,” I said, harsher than I probably should have. Alexandra’s mouth closed with a sharp clink of her teeth.
“She’s not wrong,” Aaron pushed, refusing to let it drop. I couldn’t use the same argument with him because he did understand it. Possibly better than I.
“I’ve known what Alec was for almost two years,” Blair said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “I don’t think this is the bond madness,” she continued. “My demon has been around for a little while now, but I didn’t realize what or who she was until Selena’s came forward months ago. It scared me, and I tried to hide it.”
On one hand, I appreciated her being honest and straightforward, on the other hand—she lied to me—and this could have been prevented if she hadn’t.
“I asked you less than forty-eight hours ago and you lied to my face.” She looked at me with remorse and a sad smile.
“Yes, I did, and I’m not going to make excuses for it.”
I breathed a steady sigh of frustration, trying to calm the slicing sensation through my chest that stung of betrayal and made my own savage half go into a frenzy.
“So,” I started, choosing to focus on what mattered here. “You think this is entirely your demon instead of strain from not completing the bond?” Blair’s hand dropped away from my shoulder and back into her lap.
“Yeah, I do.”
And despite her lying to my face, I believed her. At least believed that she really thought that. I sighed deeply and rose to my feet, pacing around the empty room. Unlike my sister, Tori, and Amber—Blair had kept her room practically untouched. Sparse. The faint smell of her clung to the sheets, but there was no other indication that she’d been staying here for months. I had to wonder if that was part of this. If she instinctually separated herself, even from her living space, because of the conflict inside of her.
“Okay, where do we go from here?” I asked, weighing our options back and forth.
“I’m not cool with practicing here. There’s too many things that can go wrong,” Alexandra said, crossing her arms over her chest.
“My father has also expressed a preference for you to practice elsewhere,” Aaron sighed, clearly bothered by this. “The Shifters are already uneasy with us harboring known fugitives from the Supernatural Council. We don’t need a civil war on our hands, which is what will happen if they think he’s choosing your safety over his own people.”
“Then the residence is out of the question,” I murmured. “That complicates things.”
“We could not practice at all,” Alexandra suggested. “You could just teach us whatever you did while you were sleeping?” I snorted.
“First, that’s not going to work for either of you.” Because I had help from Violet, and I’d yet to figure out who or what she really was. “Second, Blair’s other half is more vicious than yours. I don’t think she can hold it off for months.”
“I can’t,” Blair agreed. “I’m not sure if I’ll be able to hold off for more than a day at a time right now. We’d be living with a hair trigger, and with Anastasia out there and the Vampires biding their time—ignoring this won’t be an option.” She brushed a handful of her white blonde hair from her face. “I’m going to need to practice so I can get ahold of these new aspects of my ability, and my demon. She’s not as neutral as yours,” Blair said to me. “Or as trusting as yours,” she said to Alexandra. “And with all of her urges riding me and the shadows whispering…I don’t give it more than twelve hours before I try to kill someone.”
Well, that settles that then.
“We need to find somewhere they can let it out without worrying about getting hurt,” I murmured, more to myself than anything.
“Or even better, somewhere where people go to satiate their own bloodlust,” Aaron suggested. It was the spark of epiphany in his voice that had my head snapping up. A memory and a place from not long ago came to mind, and I knew we were thinking the same thing.
“What are you talking about?” Alexandra sighed, clearly frustrated to not get it without being told.
“The black market,” Aaron and I said in unison.
It was perfect. We could train without fear of hurting the Shifter community—although we would need to be vigilant about making sure the fight stayed contained. While most of the paranormals who worked in the black market were shady, that didn’t mean they deserved to die. I’d already leveled it once, and while it had been rebuilt…I would need to be very careful in how we proceeded. Still, this could be my chance to find the Crone again and see if she has anymore answers.
Alexandra’s mouth popped open and she said, “You’ve got to be kidding me. Please tell me you’re like, joking.” I smiled like a mad woman.
“They’re not,” Blair said. There was a weary resignation in the way she said it.
“That’s a terrible idea,” Alexandra blustered. “Anastasia’s still out looking for you.” She pointed at me, jumping to her feet in indignation. “Not to mention all the paranormals that want to kill you because they think you were the cause of Daizlei. Can you honestly tell me that you think you’re ready to fight off that many people and not accidentally cause another earthquake?”
She had a point, but so did I.
“I know she’s still looking for me, just as I know the average paranormal can’t tell the difference between me and her.” Her mouth pressed into a thin line. “When word reaches her that she’s been slumming it in the black market, she’s going to be pissed, and that will make her desperate. So while you two are sorting your stuff out, Aaron and I can try to track her down.” I was well aware I was avoiding her last question. Was I ready? I had no idea, but there was only one way to find out. “Her working with the Vampires may be a grab for more power, but I don’t think that’s why she’s trying to kill me—and what better way to find out than luring out Anastasia herself.”
“Sometimes I don’t know whether you’re crazy or brilliant,” Alexandra said, placing her hands on her hips.
“I’m starting to think a bit of both,” Blair replied. The troubled look in her eyes was still there, but it was the best plan we had.
I just hoped we didn’t come to regret it.
Chapter 126
It was nearly midnight when the six of us stepped into the magical elevator. Alexandra, Blair, and I wore dark clothes with weapons strapped in hidden places. Aaron carried the backpack of extra clothing so that we wouldn’t draw any attention when sneaking back into the residence. Johanna and Tori came as back up, but if all went as planned we would be out of the Las Vegas black market before sunrise.
After meeting up with the rest of the team over dinner, we decided to test the waters with a small group of people; an in and out job.
The idea was that if tonight was a success, then we could access black markets all over the world and attempt to track down Anastasia while learning to harness our abilities, and in my case—find the Crone.
I’d yet to tell anyone about that encounter months ago, and after so much time passing, it seemed inconsequential to bring it up now. So much had happened. So much had changed. At least that’s what I told myself as the doors slid open, revealing the same alleyway from months ago.
I stepped onto the compounded dirt and the scents of magic and mold hit me. A gust of wind tunneled down the alley and slapped my face with a brisk freshness that had me wide-eyed and alert. I faced the market, once again falling down the rabbit hole that was my own fascination.
Months had passed since I’d caused an earthquake, but you wouldn’t know it. Tents of all shapes and sizes lined the never-ending street like nothing ever happened. The stall set up across from the alley showcased a selection of fancy looking glass bottles that the salesman was claiming were love potions. I found that hard to believe given that the man could have used moonscreen. Only Witches could make potions, and he certainly didn’t look like one with his pasty white skin.
I shook my head as Blair grabbed my
arm and said, “Come on.”
The street was crowded tonight as we made our way towards the pits. This was so different than the times before. I was different. While the same wonder and fascination filled me, I was no longer drawn here by a need to escape.
The thought kept me grounded as we approached the crowd. They cheered with a thunderous roar that had me cringing as we walked around the edge. Most had their backs to us, but every now and then I spotted someone paying a little too much attention to us for my liking.
“Wait here,” Aaron said, taking off through the crowd. I frowned, slipping out of Blair’s grip to follow him. Some might say I was being paranoid, but for someone that was concerned about safety down here, splitting off didn’t seem like the smartest idea. Call it a hunch, but something wasn’t right.
Aaron weaved through the crowd with expert skill, but he was bigger and bulkier than me and that left a trail in his wake. I made sure to stay far enough back he couldn’t see me, but close enough I could track his scent through the crowd.
At first, it seemed like he was going straight for the pit, but then he veered left, cutting back towards the street we had just come from. I stumbled out of the crowd after him, suffering from sensory overload. This many sounds were overwhelming, but when the scent of smoke and wind drifted by, I picked it up like a hound on a trail.
I tracked it fifty yards away to a dark red tent with gold trim. Outside, two burly looking guards stood by with their hands crossed behind their backs and feet wide. The door was just flapping closed as I caught sight of it.
What are you doing, Aaron?
I shied away from the thought immediately because it sounded too close to home. Too intimate. And there was too much between us still unsaid.
I kept telling myself one of these days we’d get around to it, but somehow the time never seemed right.
I slinked closer to the tent, stretching my hearing as far as it would go…
The world flashed and instantly everything changed.
I was no longer walking by the tent, but sitting in a leather cushioned chair looking at…was that Tam?
What the actual fuck. The cat-eyed alpha grinned viciously, stroking the triangle of blue tinted hair on his chin. He had both feet kicked up on a desk that sat between us and a fluffy white cat on his lap.
“Will it be the usual, Alpha?” Tam asked me.
Me? I frowned internally but my lips wouldn’t move.
“No.” The word came out of my mouth, but not on my command. “I’m not here for me tonight.”
Was that…I knew that voice. And it wasn’t mine.
“Oh?” Tam asked in mock delight. “I’ve heard whispers of your signasti and her growing bloodlust…am I to suppose the rumors are true?” Tam asked lightly, petting the cat on his lap. He wore three gold rings, two glinted with red.
What the hell was actually going on here?
“Selena is getting better. Tonight isn’t for her.” Aaron paused to readjust himself, sighing deeply. “It’s Alexandra and Blair. I need two inmates for them. Paranormals with heinous crimes that they won’t feel bad for executing.”
Inmates? Executing?
I opened my mouth to shout at him and the world flashed again. Instead of the blood red tent walls and Tam, I was facing the open market and standing rock still like a crazy person staring into nothing. I shook my head and stormed towards the tent, not slowing my steps as two paranormals—Shifters—stepped in my way.
“Excuse me, miss—”
“We’re under direct orders to—”
I stopped two feet from them and crossed my arms over my chest. The looks they were giving me made me think they knew exactly who I was. Perfect.
“Aaron!” I snapped, raising my voice. “I know you’re in there and if you don’t call off the guards, I will come in, with or without your permission.” From within the tent there was a shuffling before the flap opened.
“Selena, darling!” Tam gushed. “It’s so lovely to see you—”
“Cut the crap, Tam.”
His mouth snapped shut and he pursed his lips, giving me a mildly amused inspection before saying, “Fair enough. Come in.”
I stepped past the guards and beyond the velvet red curtain. Not two feet in front of me sat Aaron, stiff as a rod, in front of the same desk from my vision. The fluffy white cat perched on the edge, her fur tinted red from where Tam had been petting her.
“You don’t look terribly surprised to see me,” Tam mused as he plunked his ass down in the massive oak chair across from us, resting his elbows on the desk to steeple his fingers.
“Do you run the market or just the fights?” I asked, my voice deathly quiet. Tam didn’t seem bothered by this, but Aaron had the good sense to look worried. He cast me a wary glance like he was trying to decipher how much I knew.
“Well that depends on your definition of run,” Tam said. “If you mean handle all of the ins and outs of the market, as well as the betting pool, then yes. Yes, I do.” His glittery red vest sparkled under the chandelier.
“And the inmates? You want to tell me about those?”
Tams eyebrows rose. He wasn’t expecting that.
“How exactly did you–”
“Answer the question or we can revisit how bloodthirsty I am feeling,” I replied. Aaron’s gaze nearly burned holes into my skin as a slow realization seemed to dawn on him.
“I handle all of the fights that go down in the Las Vegas black market. That includes picking the opponents. Most are predators that I keep locked up and choose to have executed by a fight to the death. Some people”—Tam flicked his gaze to Aaron—“choose to engage in these fights.”
“And by ‘some people,’ you mean Aaron,” I surmised. Tam shrugged in a non-committal gesture, but Aaron was well aware of the hole that was deepening. His grave.
“It’s not what you think,” Aaron said.
“Oh?” I cocked an eyebrow, waiting for the excuse. This better be good.
His jaw tensed, and in the candlelight coming from the chandelier, he had a faint five o’clock shadow. His normally onyx eyes glinted with a hint of gold.
My heart skipped a beat in my chest, pounding like a drum.
“I’ve been coming here to let off steam the past few months,” Aaron started. “Like you, I have some…tendencies that aren’t easy for people to always accept, and the bond madness has been making it worse. Tam has been assisting me in keeping it under control.”
I stared blankly, my lips parted, and my thoughts jumbled as I tried to come up with a response to that. A cold kind of clarity came over me about the grey area on which we were treading.
An area that I was all too at home with.
“You called them predators?” I asked slowly, shifting my attention to Tam. I ran my fingers across the mahogany desk, tapping my nails on the varnish. “Is it safe to assume these are people the world is better off without?”
A short silence. “Yes,” Tam supplied. I nodded.
“And what will your silence cost?”
Tam grinned like a fool.
“For you and your family, nothing. It would be my honor”—his eyes slid sideways—“as a service to the one-day Alphas.” I stiffened but didn’t comment on his choice of words. I was well aware the kind of game I was playing. It was one my father taught me well.
“Very well.” I paused. “I need you to find me monsters that my cousin can rip apart without thinking. Her demon is vicious; it will want a challenge. Vampires and demons are preferred.”
Tam flashed a Cheshire smile. “Duly noted. Demons are hard to hold, but I’ve got several Made on standby as we speak.”
“That will do,” I said, playing with a speck of dust on the desk. The tent was relatively small, and Tam’s chair and desk took up most of the room, leaving only a small place for the rickety chair Aaron sat in and a lone barstool.
“And your sister? Does she have any specific tastes?” he inquired. I knew it was entirely morbid curiosity
that brought on his line of questioning, but anything that made it easier for them would help.
“Feisty,” I replied. “The ones that run their mouth will piss her off. Vampires are preferred but prioritize behavior over species.” I rattled off her specifics without thinking. After training with them for so long, it didn’t take much to know what would be triggers. The undead that killed my sister and Blair’s mother were the first and most obvious go-tos.
“And what about your preferences?” he asked, his sly smile never slipping.
“The worst of the worst, of course.” I didn’t hesitate. “I want the monsters that are so messed up they even give you nightmares. The ones that are dangerous enough you usually have them killed on the spot because letting them live is too big a risk. Those are the predators that I prey on.”
Tam’s cat eyes gleamed with something almost like pride as he said, “I can see how fate chose you for him. You will make a great Alpha one day.”
I shrugged. “The way I see it, I’m not a good person, but I’m not bad either. I’m somewhere in-between, and that puts me in a place where I can do this world some good by eliminating those that are very bad. Good people don’t have it in them to kill, but I do.”
Tam thought on this for a moment before saying, “My comment still stands.”
I clicked my tongue. “Are we done here?”
He nodded. “I’ll have your cousin’s fight scheduled to start in half an hour. Your sister will go after. Does this work?”
“Yes, thank you.” Aaron stood and I took that as our cue to leave.
What’s the worst that could happen in half an hour?
Chapter 127
Blair’s body shuddered and her demon surfaced the moment she stepped into the pit.
The crowd noticed the change instantly and grew fevered in their cheers. They laid down wagers left and right, exchanging money, favors, and unspeakable deeds like it was all nothing more than just business. I suppose out here, for some people, that may be quite true.
Daizlei Academy Omnibus Collection Page 73