— The Cats of Ulthar. Never heard of it.
“May we sit?” Jaxson asked, his voice low.
The woman didn’t bother looking up. “I don’t know you.”
He sat down across from her. “Then you’ve been lucky. But as it so
happens, we know your friend the Ripper, and he had some interesting things
to say.”
She snapped the book shut and glared. “I don’t know you, I don’t know
him, and whatever you’ve heard is total bullshit, so get lost.”
“Funny. I’ve heard a lot of rumors about you in the Underground, and
everything he said checks out. You were supposed to help him and another
convict get out of town when Bentham was breached.”
“Nope. I had nothing to do with that.” She grabbed her pocketbook and
rose to leave.
“Sit,” Jaxson growled, naked menace in his tone. His power caught me by
surprise, and I obeyed instantly, even though the order hadn’t been for me.
The Viper resisted for a fraction of a second before following suit.
Jaxson jabbed a claw into the table. “You helped Ulan Kahanov escape.
He’s been fucking with my pack, and we need to ask you a few questions
about him.”
She sneered with obvious distaste. “Never heard of him.”
I leaned forward and gave her my best fellow girl in trouble look. “Please.
He’s a sick freak, and he’s turned my life into a living hell. Tell us what you
know.”
The Viper shot daggers at me with her stare. “No.”
Jaxson’s eyes flashed gold, and he loomed over the table. “I’ll be frank. If
you don’t tell us, you’ll have to slither out of here on your belly.”
The scent of her rising fear filled the air. Good. She’d opened Pandora’s
box helping Kahanov escape. She could sweat.
She leaned forward and pitched her voice low. “Look, I can’t talk here.
I’d lose my reputation.” She reached in her jacket and pulled out a business
card, then placed it on the table and slid it across the table to Jaxson.
He picked it up.
The moment he touched it, a burst of static electricity made my hair stand
on end, and then a shock blasted him backward. The tables and chairs behind
us crashed to the floor, along with his body.
I leapt back and shouted in surprise as the Viper darted toward the rear. I
dropped to Jaxson’s side. “Holy shit, are you okay?”
His eyes were wide, and he wasn’t moving. “Get her!” he slurred through
clenched teeth.
Other patrons gathered around. I stood, but he didn’t move a muscle to
follow. “Go!” he hissed.
I scrambled after the Viper, who’d headed for the bathrooms at the back.
The men’s was empty, but the ladies’ was locked. There wasn’t anywhere
else she could have gone.
I jiggled the knob. “Open up!”
No response.
I slammed my shoulder in the door, and pain leapt down my back and
side.
Yeah, even with werewolf powers, breaking down doors wasn’t going to
be my strong suit.
The bartender grabbed my arm. “What the hell are you doing?”
“That Viper woman just hexed my friend and ran out on her tab. She’s
gotta be in there!”
The bartender took one look at Jaxson slowly beginning to move on the
floor, then whipped out a key and unlocked the door.
It was empty. My eyes shot to the open half window high on the wall,
which, by the look of it, led out of the basement and into the alley.
Oh, no. Not this again.
With no other options, I climbed up on the toilet and started squeezing
myself through the window while the bartender shouted in protest.
I was halfway through when something hard slammed into the back of
my head. My forehead rebounded against the rough asphalt, and I groaned in
pain. Darkness crept into the corners of my vision, but I was just able to make
out a dark shape standing within arm’s reach.
I twisted, grabbed the shape with my claws, and yanked back as hard as I
could.
It was a boot, and I cried out in triumph as the Viper toppled to the
ground. I used her as an anchor to heave myself the rest of the way through
the too-tight window.
She kicked me in the cheek, and I rolled away, releasing her leg. Then she
was up and running. Fast.
I had boots of speed—at home—so I kicked off Sam’s slightly-too-large
shoes and raced after.
I could catch her, the voice inside me observed.
No way am I shifting, I thought back at it.
Fine. Suit yourself, slowpoke.
The gravel and asphalt tore into my bare feet, but the thrill of the hunt
blotted any pain from my mind. The Viper was fast, but I was faster—way
faster than I’d ever been before.
You’re a werewolf now. It comes with perks, the beast inside me said.
The Viper darted around a corner. I released my claws and dug them into
the brickwork to slingshot myself around after her.
Nice move.
It was a blind alley, and my prey was trapped. She backed up as I
approached.
A week ago, I’d been a terrified girl running down an alley with a savage
werewolf on my heels. The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on me, but I
didn’t care.
I gave her the look. “You’re going to answer my questions.”
The Viper pulled a little flask from her pocket and a knife from her belt.
“Don’t come any closer. I mean it.”
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the blue vial.
She frowned, then gave an incredulous laugh. “A potion bomb. It’ll stun
the hell out you, and then I’ll sink my knife into your throat.”
Apparently, I should have known what a potion bomb was. I was way out
of my depth. It was time for bravado and some desperate bullshit.
I began pulling the darkness around me and walked forward, drowning
my fear. Her eyes widened as I made the shadows drip down the wall like
ink, and I could smell her rising terror.
She brandished her blade. “Back off!”
I wrapped the shadows completely around myself like a black robe. “I’m
a being of shadow. Your blade, your magic—it’s meaningless to me.”
I was lying through my teeth and was very much hoping that I wouldn’t
find out what a potion bomb was. Seeing as I couldn’t throw fireballs like my
cousin, bluffing was the best I could do.
“What are you?” she asked, pressing her back against the fence that cut
across the alley. “Why are you after me?”
I hesitated. While I didn’t know crap about Magica species or types of
sorcerers, my life as of late had provided ample fucked-up inspiration.
I pulled a veil of darkness over my face—just like the sorcerer in my
visions. “I’m one of the faceless ones. A stalker in shadow. And if you don’t
help me, you’ll never walk in the light of day again.”
I called more shadows from the walls and wrapped them around her legs.
She dropped her knife and raised her hands. “Please stop, I’ll tell you
what you want to know!”
Victory.
Was it? A pang of guilt tugged at me. She was practically cowering.
But then my gui
lt evaporated. She’d stunned Jaxson, threatened me,
helped the Ripper—a serial killer—and also Kahanov, a kidnapper, murderer,
and cult leader. She deserved worse than a simple haunting.
I drifted closer, an ominous, faceless specter of shadow. “You need to tell
me exactly what you’ve done for Kahanov.”
The Viper nodded. “I was supposed to transport him and the Ripper out
of town, up to Wisconsin, where he had a contact who was going to hide
him.”
Billy. It had to be.
“The Ripper didn’t show, and then Kahanov made me wait while he
actually sneaked into the Hall of Inquiry. Can you imagine? You get out of
jail, and the first thing you do is go by the police station. The Order Archives,
technically, which is even harder to get into, although apparently, the place
had just flooded. It was insane. He was a total lunatic.”
“How so?” The first part we’d already pieced together. However, her
assessment intrigued me.
“Traveling with him was really weird. He seldom responded to his own
name. And he’d go on bloodthirsty rants.”
“About what?”
She shrugged. “Some religious cult stuff. Also, getting revenge on the
LaSalles.”
My blood chilled. Once again, my family was at the heart of this.
“Who?” I asked, hoping for specifics.
“They’re sorcerers. A shady family of arms dealers down in the Indies.”
My mouth went dry as I thought of Casey’s weapons manufacturing
plant. It was wrong, but I knew they were good-hearted people. Weren’t
they?
The Viper looked like she might be getting ready to run, so I pivoted
around her. “Do you know what Kahanov is after now?”
She shook her head. “No idea.”
Lie.
I hissed. “You’re not telling the truth, Viper. I can tell. I know when the
truth is being hidden.”
It was actually part of my wolf senses, but it sounded good. I made the
shadows creep further up her body, and I felt my power sweep over her,
pushing her into compliance.
She squeezed her eyes shut. “Okay, okay! Stop it. I’ll tell you! But it’s
going to sound crazy. The freak came to me in a dream a week ago and
demanded help. I know it doesn’t make sense, but I swear it was real. He
warned me if I ever told anyone, I’d never wake up again.”
“I can make the same promise, right now. And you’re not dreaming. So
dish. What did he want?” I lengthened all the shadows of the alley until she
was isolated on a shrinking island of light.
“He wanted information on a thing called the Soul Knife.”
My heart leapt as the thrill of the chase rose again. Now we were getting
somewhere. “What is it? What does it do?”
She shrugged as best she could with her arms up. “Some sort of ancient
artifact. By the name, I guess you can use it to cut peoples’ souls out? I don’t
know. I’m not paid for that.”
I twisted my hand toward her, beginning to really enjoy the theatrics of
the ruse. I even let a little madness slip into my voice. “And why did he want
it?”
“No idea. He said something about needing to be complete. To be whole
again. I didn’t care. I just do the job and collect the money.”
I pressed closer, and I could almost feel my power squeezing the truth out
of her. “Did you discover where it was?”
She squirmed.
“What?” I growled.
The little snake glared at me. “You should really be paying me for this
information. I’m a working girl.”
I laughed. The nerve. “I’ll be paying less attention to you. That seems a
fair price.”
“Okay, yes. I get it. You’ll let me live.” She still ground her teeth in
protest. “The last known reference I could find was a bill of sale to a collector
known as Alessandro il Mago. He lives in Italy, in a place called la città che
muore—or something like that. That’s all I know!”
My pounding heart was practically breaking through my chest. “And
when did you tell him this?”
“Last night.”
Fuck.
That night was ages ago. But we might still be able to stop him if we
hurried.
I began to walk backward toward the walls, drawing the darkness in from
all sides. “Get out of here. Don’t tell him we spoke. And don’t help him
again.”
I melted into the shadows along the wall, and she raced down the alley.
“Remember, the shadows are watching you!” I shouted in her wake,
probably a little over-dramatically. Maybe I was drunk with power, but I
didn’t want her alerting the sorcerer.
Once she was gone, I dropped the shadows and strolled down the alley. I
was confronted by the sudden reality that I didn’t have my phone, and I had
no idea how to get back.
A hulking shape thumped to the ground beside me, and I screamed and
staggered back.
Jaxson.
I bared my teeth. “You asshole! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
“Perhaps a little of your own medicine.” His voice was low, but his eyes
were full of amusement.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You heard.”
“Most of it. I was watching from the roof.”
I wasn’t sure if I was embarrassed or immensely proud. “Then you know
I got the information.”
“Remind me to ask for you when I need to scare the living piss out of
someone.”
I cocked my chin up. “At least my solution was more elegant than
threatening to break her legs. I don’t feel guilty in the slightest. She helped
Kahanov get out of town and get the grimoire. She’s at least partly
responsible for the successive chain of shit that has happened to me. And
your pack.”
He was silent for a time as he studied my face. “You did well. Good
work.”
A shiver of delight ran down my spine, and my heart began to glow. His
low, rich voice brushed against my nerve endings and made my skin pebble.
By his scent, I could tell he meant it. That he was turned on by my
confidence.
Suddenly, my heart was beating faster. I wanted him to step closer and
press his body against mine and…
I slammed on the brakes. Why was I getting all hot and bothered for a
scrap of praise from him?
I crossed my arms and tried to look pissed. “I’m glad you’re not dead or
permanently paralyzed. You wouldn’t be very useful that way.”
He shrugged, but something flashed through his eyes. “The Viper’s
business card was enchanted with a stunner spell. I should have felt it, and
that mistake was on me. Thankfully, you chased her down.”
“What next?”
“By the sounds of it, we’re going to Italy to find this mage. He could be
in danger. If he’s still alive and has the artifact, we can negotiate. If Kahanov
has beaten us to the punch, then maybe we can find some clues to what he’s
up to. I’ll call Amal. She’s been working there and knows the territory. She
might even be able to find a way to call ahead and give the mage a warning
and a heads-up that we’re coming.”
20
Savannah
Everything began moving at high speed as Jaxson hounded his contacts
for information and we grabbed supplies.
It turned out that Alessandro il Mago was a wealthy art collector and
mage of middling skill. While he reputedly kept a large staff, no one
answered the phone. An ominous sign that meant we were headed to la città
che muore for a house call and going in blind.
Forty minutes later, I got the chance to travel by teleportation portal for
the first time.
It was absolutely horrendous.
I clutched Jaxson tightly and screamed as the portal sucked us in and sent
us spinning through a gray abyss.
My stomach lurched as I stumbled out of the portal and staggered
halfway down a set of stone steps. Gasping for breath, I bent double and
braced my hands on my knees as the world—and my stomach—continued to
spin.
“That was horrible,” I muttered. “Like riding the teacups at a carnival.”
“Far better than a nine-hour flight to Rome,” Jaxson said coolly.
I’d only been on a plane once, and an international flight with movies and
cocktails seemed exciting and far less nauseating than being tumble-dried in
some sort of magical netherworld.
When I was finally sure I wasn’t going to puke, I righted myself.
Dark, bestial shapes loomed out of the moonlit forest around us. My pulse
quickened, and I spun about. The screaming face of a hideous giant stared
back at me.
I yelped and caught my foot on the stairs as I staggered away. Arms
flailing, I landed on my ass on the stone steps. Pain shot through my tailbone,
and I cursed as I slapped a hand to my butt.
Jaxson softly chuckled, and blood flushed my cheeks as I got a better
view of the screaming stone face. It was a grotesque sculpture of an ogre’s
head. Stairs led up to its cavernous open mouth—apparently, the exit of the
portal. It had two stubby teeth and hollow eyes, and its expression was
contorted by rage.
He could have warned me. Prick.
I surveyed my surroundings.
A low mist covered the ground, and statues loomed up out from the trees
around us—dragons, lions, elephants, and even gods. I recognized them and
what they were now, and yet I still had to fight down my instinct to run. It
was possibly the creepiest place I had ever been.
“What’s all this?” I whispered.
Untamed Fate (Magic Side: Wolf Bound Book 2) Page 15