Taste

by Claire Farrell

  “That’s true,” I said, “which is why I need to get back out there.”

  “We need you to keep fighting,” Koda said.

  “That’s what I’m trying to do.”

  “We need you to do it in our name and to coordinate with our warriors. If last night was the vampires trying to figure out our defences, then we are in for a world of trouble.”

  I exchanged a glance with Gabe who shrugged.

  “As you said, Ava, we need to work together,” Eddie said. “You could use more warriors on your side.”

  “Only if they’re useful. I mean, if they’re hanging around here to guard people who have the power to defend themselves, then they might as well be hanging upside down from a tree for all the use they’ll be to me. We need to get out there, and not just fight, but slaughter these things. We need to be respected by the vampires. They have Gideon and Reuben on their side, and—”

  “We don’t know that for sure,” Erossi interrupted.

  I continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “—that means they know possible weak points, entry points, places you neglect or are desperate to protect.”

  “This is going to be tougher than any of us expect,” Gabe said. “They will send everything our way just to overwhelm us. They know we can handle a certain amount of problems. But multiply that by a factor of a hundred, and who knows?”

  “We need to use the children,” Erossi said.

  “Are you fucking crazy?” I exclaimed. “Children? Against monsters?”

  “They are powerful,” Eddie murmured.

  “You’ll seriously use children as shields? There has to be another way. How many Guardians are there? How many volunteers can we round up? How many humans will get involved? There has to be an alternative. Those children need to be protected, not used.”

  “We need to release the hounds,” Gabe said, a weird smile on his face. “Right, Fionnuala?”

  She glanced from one face to another.

  “There are none,” Elathan said. “They were destroyed, were they not?”

  Fionnuala licked her lips. “There are some. Enough to destroy an army? Probably not. But enough to make a difference if we should need them.”

  “Enough what?” I asked, completely confused. The only hounds that came to mind were hellhounds, but surely they didn’t mean that. Although a gang of hellhounds on our side would come in very handy if Val was anything to go by.

  “We’re talking about the werewolves,” Gabe said. “The fae controlled the werewolf population in the past to cut down the vampire population. It was a long time ago, and the werewolves were supposed to be destroyed, but the fae kept some hidden.”

  “I’ve heard the rumours, but I thought they were wiped out. So… what? They’re shifters?”

  “They’re closer to the beasts than to shifters,” Aiden said, sounding insulted.

  “Come,” Fionnuala said, getting to her feet. “It’s time to visit the werewolves and their keeper.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  A thrill of nerves ran under my skin as Gabe laid his hand on my lower back to guide me out of the room.

  “You’re going to want to see this,” he whispered.

  “I’m actually shaking,” I responded. “Is this as dangerous as it feels?”

  “Depends how on the ball the keeper is.”

  “Who’s the keeper?”

  “I have my suspicions. We’ll soon see.”

  Leading the way, Fionnuala swept down a white hallway. Halfway down, she stopped abruptly and laid her hands on a wall. A portion of it pushed aside, revealing a tunnel.

  “You kept them here?” Erossi sounded horrified.

  My eyes widened when Fionnuala stepped inside the tunnel, torches on the sides lighting up as she passed. The tunnel had been hollowed out from rock and earth, but there was no apparent method of stopping the whole thing from collapsing on top of us. A trickle of sweat rolled down my back as we followed her into the winding tunnel. The path grew smaller and more confined. I didn’t like enclosed spaces, and I found it hard to breathe.

  “Always a treat seeing you people,” I said just to make a sound other than boots scuffing on dirt and stone.

  Gabe squeezed my shoulder, and a sudden flare from a torch almost burned us both.

  “Bitch,” I muttered.

  We walked for another fifteen minutes before a howl had everyone slowing to a stop. I bumped into Aiden ahead of me, and he glared back at me, his eyes shining yellow in the low light.

  “Keep walking,” I hissed, but I turned to make a face at Gabe. That howl had been wild.

  Finally, we came to a massive, solid iron door that resembled what I’d expect to see covering a giant safe. Fionnuala turned the wheel, and the door opened slowly. The new passage led into what looked like an underground prison. We entered and strode down a narrow walkway lined with iron-barred cells, and I sucked in a breath at the state of the naked people the cages contained. The men were all alone, but many of the women had a child with them.

  They stared at us, the children hiding behind their mothers and peeking out from behind bare legs. The men jumped at the cage bars, feigning attacks. Aiden rolled his shoulders, his heartbeat racing.

  We kept moving, and the space grew wider. A tall figure came out of the darkness, and my pulse sped up, but Fionnuala reached out to him, and I realised she knew him.

  She touched his arm affectionately, but when the light hit his face, I stumbled, and only Gabe catching me stopped me from keeling over. I knew his face. Knew it well. His long black hair was streaked with platinum, but he looked almost exactly like Lorcan. I knew the fae didn’t show their age, but this fae and Lorcan could have been brothers. Gabe shook his head at me, a silent message not to reveal anything, but even I wasn’t that stupid.

  This was the keeper of werewolves?

  “He is their trainer, their keeper, and their caretaker,” Fionnuala was saying. “He controls them, and they will never go against him.”

  I caught sight of a heavy whip strapped to his belt. “Hold on a second,” I said. “Are you breeding them?”

  “Accidents happen,” she said primly.

  I took that as a yes. “But what for? I mean, why keep them here like this?”

  “They’re wild,” Aiden said. “Uncontrollable. They’re a threat to everyone, even themselves.”

  “Then why breed them? The vampires haven’t been able to multiply in a century. What’s this in aid of?”

  “Oh.” Fionnuala waved her hand. “You can never know what will come along.” But her cruel eyes found mine, and I saw a threat hidden in their depths.

  “If they’re uncontrollable, then how can we use them?” Eddie asked.

  “Their keeper can control them enough to use. They need guidance in a battle, to ensure they know which side they’re on, but I’m sure we can figure something out.”

  She pulled the Lorcan-lookalike aside and whispered to him. He glanced at me, his green eyes widening in horror. A platinum streak of hair glowed under a flaming torch, reminding me of Lucia.

  Everyone spoke amongst themselves, so I wandered around, glancing into the cages. A couple of the werewolves stepped back as I approached; others went crazy at my presence.

  “They could be useful,” Aiden said.

  “Slaves,” I whispered back, feeling terribly sad.

  “Better these than the children.”

  I wasn’t even sure anymore. Slavery was wrong, no matter who was enslaved.

  The fae male approached us, running his long, slim fingers across the bars of the cages. All of the werewolves stepped back, eyeing him carefully, some with more respect than others.

  “You are to assist me,” he said in a smooth voice. “But know who is in charge.”

  I made a face. The snobby fae couldn’t possibly be related to the twins.

  “How am I supposed to help with this?” I asked loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “Her?” Erossi demanded. “How can she poss
ibly help?”

  “She’s strong,” Fionnuala said. “And she can bring some chained ones into battle. She’ll be at the heart of the battle, so we wouldn’t want them to suddenly come across her, and oh, I don’t know, mistakenly think she’s an enemy.”

  I glared at Fionnuala. “I can handle it.”

  “Ava, no,” Eddie and Gabe said in unison.

  Those two in agreement was unsettling. I raised an eyebrow at them.

  “They’re natural enemies of vampires, Ava. Think about the danger,” Eddie said.

  I gazed at the nearest werewolf and stepped closer to the cage. I put my hands on the bars and studied the male. He looked strong. He held up his chin, and underneath the scruff and dirty facial hair, I saw good eyes that watched me with more than a little intelligence.

  “Hi,” I whispered.

  He regarded me for a couple of seconds before launching himself at the bars. Fur sprouted from his face, and claws slid through the slits as I stepped out of his reach.

  “Wow,” I said, fascinated by the change.

  His blue eyes had blackened except for a ring of yellow around the pupil. I had thought he looked wild before, but the change made him positively feral. There was no humanity in those eyes. His body was covered in fur, but he could walk on two legs or four, a little like Becca had in the end. His claws were vicious, but the brawny strength and breadth of his chest were what would scare me in a fight.

  “Don’t tease them,” the fae yelled at me.

  “I’m not. I just needed to see.” I moved closer to the cage again. The werewolf had calmed. “I want him, I think. To go with me.”

  A whimper came from a few cages down, and the werewolf’s head jerked in that direction. I hurried to the cage and saw a female with a baby in her arms. She glared when I got close, keeping her baby as far away from me as possible.

  “This is awful,” I said. “They aren’t just wild. They shouldn’t be in cages. Not separated like this.”

  “They’ll kill each other when it’s a full moon,” the fae said, following me. “A male will fight another male to the death at any time of the month, but when the moon is full, a male will even destroy a female. He’ll mourn her afterward, but when the control is lost, there is nothing that can be done.”

  “So lock the males away during the full moon, then,” I said.

  He hesitated, glancing at Fionnuala. “It’s not my decision,” he said under his breath before walking away.

  “If you’ve quite finished playing with the puppies…” Gabe murmured. He led me away, gripping my arm so tightly I had no choice but to follow.

  But when I looked back at the werewolf, he was still trying to catch a glimpse of the female, and I had to wonder what was really going on in that dungeon.

  “When will they be ready?” Fionnuala was asking as we joined the group again.

  “A couple of days,” the fae replied. “It might take a while for them to adjust above ground.”

  “They’ll be fine,” she said briskly. “Get them ready as quickly as possible.”

  “It will still take a day,” he insisted.

  She held in a sigh. “Fine. Delaney, can you hold the vampires and their pets off for one night?”

  I shrugged. “With enough help, yeah. That depends on you lot.”

  “As Gabe keeps telling us, working together will win the war.”

  I narrowed my eyes. “As long as there won’t be any so-called rebel arrests, we should be fine.”

  Her lips pressed together tightly, and I could see it absolutely killed her to agree.

  “You able to fight tonight?” I asked Gabe on the way out.

  “I don’t suppose I have much choice,” he said, smiling.

  I could almost imagine his smiles were genuine, that he actually cared about what was right. “Maybe you should stay at home. My home, I mean. Help keep an eye on things.”

  “I’d rather keep an eye on you. The Council will never forgive me if I let you run riot around the country.”

  “Shut up.”

  When we finally came up into white hallways again, I was desperate to leave. The Council always made me feel grimy, as if being around them tainted me even more than I already was.

  “We need to make some kind of a statement,” I announced when we gathered around the table again. “Like, hold a press conference or something. Tell people about the kinds of places that might be attacked. Let them have the chance to defend their own territories.”

  Fionnuala rolled her eyes, but Erossi said, “Of course. I should be in charge of this.”

  “Try not to sound so full of yourself if it’s you,” I said.

  Eddie and Gabe muffled their laughter.

  “Is there time?” Koda asked. “Darkness is coming earlier and earlier, it seems.”

  “There’s always time to warn people,” I insisted.

  While Erossi organised the conference, the rest of us discussed where we should place fighters.

  “We need to protect the coastlines,” Gabe said.

  “Yeah, but what if they’re already here?” Aiden said. “We could be separating our defences in the wrong ways.”

  “No matter what we do, we’re taking chances,” Eddie said. “It will fall down to the little people in the end. The tides only turn if enough stand together.”

  I nodded at his words. “As long as the Guardians are out there defending and not standing around waiting for something to happen. Communication is key. We need to know where the attacks are coming from as quickly as possible. That’s a huge point. Some of us can cover a lot of ground. If we can keep moving, keep backing up the weak spots, we can make it hard for the BVA to come at us in strength.”

  “I can’t imagine they will scatter their own troops,” Fionnuala said. “It would make more sense to send an army and force their way across the country.”

  Gabe frowned. “But then where do they start? In less defended areas so they can pick off people on the way, or will they force their way into the main cities, ensuring everyone else bows down?”

  “Have they ever done anything like this before?” I asked. “And how did they actually take down Britain again?”

  “By slaughtering those in charge,” Koda said grimly.

  “Which is why you all are hiding out here,” I said, finally understanding. “Surely, if you fell, someone else would pick up the slack. It wouldn’t all fall apart, right?”

  They looked so confused, I wanted to laugh. They thought of themselves as indispensable. If they only knew my plans for them…

  “They took over the main centre,” Aiden explained. “Esther said they hit at the heart, and the rest of the country didn’t know what was happening. They used force and surprise, and they won easily.”

  “This time, they don’t have surprise, but they have force,” I said. “My best guess is they’ll head for this place then. So you all shouldn’t be here.”

  “We can’t abandon the headquarters,” Fionnuala said sharply. “It’s too important.”

  “Then what? Wait for them to come to you?”

  “We’ll defend this place as best we can if they do,” she said. “But it’s your job to make sure they don’t get this far.”

  I groaned. “We’re going around in circles here. If they attack, last resort is the werewolves, right? So don’t bother defending. Protect the city itself. Make this place unattainable.”

  “She knows nothing of tactics,” Fionnuala said.

  “In case you’ve forgotten, she led a force that controlled the attack last night,” Elathan pointed out. “I have more faith in her than you.”

  She scowled at him. “I will remain here, no matter what happens. I care not for the city.”

  Bitch. “Right,” I said. “Looks like I’m off to fight your battles again. If any of you want to man up and join me, feel free. Eddie, if you have any spare mojo, I have a lot of people who could use it.”

  He glanced at Marina, who shrugged. She had been strangely
quiet. “We can probably help just a little,” he said.

  “I’ll come,” Elathan said, sounding interested all of a sudden.

  “And I’ll keep in touch with you,” Aiden added. “I can contact most of the Guardians within minutes. It’ll be easier if you all communicate through me. I can have Circles heading your way any time.”

  “Great,” I said brightly. “That’s a start.” We headed out to the car.

  I ended up in Gabe’s backseat, squashed between Marina and Elathan. Eddie sat in the passenger seat, looking absolutely delighted with himself.

  “Of course I can help,” he told me. “The effects will only last a couple of days, but I’m sure your home will be protected long enough.”

  “The entire cul-de-sac,” I reminded him. “And the property the children the Council stole from the slave markets are staying in. And the flats I told you about. I told Erossi to tell people to set up evacuation centres in churches or schools, but preferably places that are a bit more secure. If we could get anyone with magic to throw up a few spells that might dissuade some vampires,that could really make a difference.”

  “My coven can assist,” Marina said.

  Eddie frowned. “We’ll take care of as many places as we can, but there is no possible way we can secure the entire city in two hours. There’s little we can do for anyone further out. The rest of the country will have to take care of itself.”

  “I know,” I said. “But we can at least try. And Elathan? Don’t even look at anyone crooked. I don’t trust you. At all.”

  He laughed, a lovely sound that almost helped me forget he had once been thrown out of Hell. “Not to worry. I have no interest wasting my time on petty matters the Council seem so concerned about. No offence, Gabe.”

  Gabe made a noncommittal humming noise, but his knuckles turned white.

  “Arrests and that sort of thing?” Elathan continued. “Not my bag. I’m happy to jump into this scrap though.”

  I shook my head, completely confused by the fair-haired, dark-eyed Elathan. People didn’t make enough sense anymore.

  Gabe drove all of us to the cul-de-sac so the witch and Eddie could throw a little protection over the area. I wasn’t comfortable with them having free rein there, but without Mrs. Yaga’s protection, I didn’t know what else to do.