by Kim Faulks
“You let him into your room?” Principal Stone’s voice climbed.
“Morwenna,” Dad snapped, pulling open the ties on the bag. “I taught you better than that.”
“Well, he said he needed help. I thought maybe someone was chasing him.” I fidgeted with the hem of my school shirt. “Anyway, Dad, you told me to always help someone in need.”
His head flinched upward, disbelief washing over his expression. Oh, right, that might have been Mom saying that.
The cords in his muscles tensed, and he turned toward the principal. “Why was a sewer dweller breaking into your campus! Thought you said you had the place locked down?”
Ms. Stone was breathing faster than a normal person should. “We have, I mean I will check this week’s spell was done.”
Dad grumbled under his breath.
“What’s a sewer dweller?” I asked, but they ignored me, both of their gazes falling to the sparkly stones rolling out of the bag and into Dad’s large palm.
The principal gasped, her hand flying to her chest in an exaggerated gesture. Had she never seen a diamond before? Instinct had me glancing at her fingers. No rings.
Dad grabbed my wrist, studying my palm, then my other hand, stopping on the index finger that got zapped when I touched the emblem on the bag the other day.
His brow furrowed into a tangled mess. “They’ve marked her,” he growled.
“Marked,” I breathed and pulled my hand back before staring and prodding the red tip of my finger that had never completely healed.
“Have you tried to get rid of them?” He snapped toward me.
I nodded, twisting the family ring around my middle finger, the one that allowed me to walk in daylight, but didn’t protect me against whatever these diamonds were. I told Dad about hiding the stones and how they returned to my room. Maybe I was stuck in a damn Groundhog day with them.
Dad reached over and cupped my cheek. “The diamonds have been marked by your power, and your power has marked them.”
“What the hell does that mean? How do I unmark myself?” I failed to hide the tremble in my voice.
“Whoever’s marked you and the diamonds now has access to your power. I’ve heard of these stones before. It won’t drain you but they could make you too strong.”
Why was that a bad thing?
“It could destroy you, Morwenna.”
Before I could respond, Dad dragged me into his arms, constricting me against his chest. “This was why I didn’t want you to leave home or go to an Academy.” Trepidation lined his whispered words. “Hell, damn the Reckoning of the Dead. Nothing good in having you attend here.”
I wriggled free from his iron embrace and glanced up, noting Ms. Stone was walking out of the room, Dad’s gaze followed her and it was clear his conversation with her wasn’t finished.
“What do I do now?” I asked.
He kissed the top of my head. “Go to class. Leave it to me.” With a quick nod he marched after the Principal and into her office, closing the door behind him.
I stood there, feeling like ice flooded my veins. Who the hell would want my power when I couldn’t even master it myself? Then I recalled Mr. Leathers’ statement about me being the most powerful Vampire. He had to be mistaken.
And I wasn’t going to sit around. Dad had given me a clue, and I intended to do my own investigation into who in the world had targeted me, and how to remove the damn mark.
“Sewer dweller?” Judas wiped his mouth with a paper napkin and cast it into the middle of a now empty plate.
The cafeteria crowd was starting to thin, leaving a few of us behind.
I stared at Judas from across the table. “So, you up for an exploration mission with me?”
The words felt forced. I hated that. But I hated the way Leathers had come between us even more, so this was my damn olive branch.
All he had to do was take it.
When he didn’t answer, I reached over and touched his arm, turning around in my seat to face him. “Is everything all right?”
It took him a moment to respond and when he did, it wore a forced smile. “Yeah, just a few things on my mind. Is it okay if I ask Nero to tag along instead?”
“Nero? Sure.”
“Bond’s busy. I’ve got…pack stuff. But Nero’s a solid guy. He’ll keep you safe.”
He glanced toward the doorway, his voice trailing away. He was occupied by something…and that something wasn’t me. He grabbed his tray from the table and rose from the seat. “I’ll catch you later, okay?”
“Okay,” I murmured watching as he stood from the table and then strode away.
The foul soul of sniggering cut across the space. I wrenched my head toward the sound and glared at Nesrin. Bitch.
She fucking riled me, worming her way under my skin, like she had done since the day I arrived here. I shoved from the seat and turned, and collided right into Nero, whose arms snapped around my waist to stop me from tripping backward.
“Whoa, I got you.” He murmured.
My hands went to his chest and I fell into his deep blue eyes. He had the thickest, longest eyelashes, and coupled with his raven hair and tanned skin, I suddenly forgot about everything else. His fingers dug into my back with urgency, and I hitched an invisible breath all the way down to my lungs.
“So, I hear I’m escorting you on a search mission,” he stated in a smooth, deep voice that left me tingling.
A smile crept over his mouth, and the air around us seemed thicker, heavier.
“You heard that huh?” I murmured, trying not to get lost in his eyes.
“You’d be amazed at what I hear,” He murmured. “So, where are we going?”
I chewed my bottom lip and tried to think. “I have no idea at this point.”
“Geez, get a room you two. And you can do better, Nero,” Nesrin snarled as she passed, and the anger in her eyes showed jealousy. Her feline followers made gagging sounds.
I stepped away from Nero, but he never took his eyes off me, instead he trailed fingers down my arm and grasped my hand.
Butterflies fluttered in my chest at the touch.
Heck, there was a whole zoo in there running rampant.
Was I really attracted to three guys at once?
And they encouraged it.
“I think Nesrin has a crush on you,” I teased, lost in my own moment, loving how incredible it felt to be walking hand in hand with him.
But he never looked at her, even now when her name was on his lips. “We dated once.”
I tried to swallow my flinch. “Really?”
He shrugged as if the news meant nothing. “Last year she pounced on me on my first day at the Academy. After two weeks, she dumped me for Bond, then went to Judas, trying to turn us against one another. Didn’t work though. She didn’t understand the rules. The pack shares everything.”
Was it wrong of me to be happy none of the Wolves were interested in Nesrin? Even if I couldn’t stop the smile from creeping across my lips.
“What’s the plan?” Nero asked. “Dad always says never wander aimlessly, always have a plan.”
I shook my head, and the sting from Nesrin’s spiteful sniggers fading. “All I know is we need to find a sewer dweller. That’s what dad called it.”
“Sewer…the ones that run under the city,” he was lost in his thoughts, blue eyes sparkling like the clearest ocean. “There’s lots of manholes in the streets. I know of a few that could lead us down to where we need to go.”
I shuddered at the thought of doing down there. But answers waited in the darkness, answers I needed.
“The city,” I murmured.
His smile was fast, “Nice day for a jog?”
I stared at him, the life draining from my face. “You’ve got to be kidding, right?”
A bark of laughter followed as he took a step backwards and threw open his hands. “What, you don’t want to get shown up by a Wolf, Vampire?”
I ground my jaw. “Like Hell.” And the
n strode forward.
There was no way some…gorgeous, blue-eyed furball was going to outpace a Livingstone.
No helldamned way.
I followed him out of the cafeteria and then the building before we cut across the parking lot and headed for the trees. Twigs snapped and crunched under my feet. His laughter flew back into my face as he took off across the ground.
I lunged after him. Trees whipped past at a blur, and I became the hunter once more and as we left the Academy grounds behind and headed for the towering skyscrapers of the city the game consumed me.
I caught sight of him racing ahead before he pivoted on a dime and leapt over a fallen tree. But I was on his tail, charging until my hair whipped behind me and my skirt plastered against my thighs, and finally we tore out of the trees and into an open field.
Nero slowed down, letting me catch him and together we slipped and raced along footpaths, eventually leaving the open ground behind.
Cars whipped past us, some we paced, rushing to surge ahead only to turn at the last moment and slip down a side street.
“Not far,” Nero lifted his hand. “Two, maybe three blocks.”
He reached out, grasped my hand and slowed our pace. I let him lead the way, sucking in hard breaths as I relished the feel of his warm hand around mine. It was nice to be cared about for something more than just designer clothes and limousines.
The city traffic slowed the deeper into the city we went, cars crawled bumper to bumper as we ran from building to building, turning down darkened side-streets and wove our way to some place Nero knew of.
“There” he jerked his head toward an empty street. “See that covered manhole? That’s going to get us where we need to be.”
He slowed, sucking in hard breaths, his cheeks bright red from the run, and glanced behind us. The side-street was empty, cars lined each side, most of the buildings were apartment complexes, with a few small boutique stores toward the main street.
Nero dropped my hand, bent and worked his fingers into the small hollow before he heaved. Muscles strained, flexing under his shirt, and with a scrape, the heavy covering came free.
“Careful going down,” he peered into the dark. “Looks like the ladder doesn’t go all the way to the bottom.
I stepped closer, and then crouched, my skirt fluttering with the movement. Not the best clothing for drafts of wind, but it was too damn late to change now.
I reached down, pressed the hemline to my thighs and stole a breath. “Okay, here goes nothing.”
My shoe sank into the darkness as I lowered my foot through the hole and found the first rung. One after another I stepped down, grasping rusted metal as I went.
Nero was right. My foot searched for another rung, but found only air. I looked down, finding nothing but air and stared at the ground far below. I clenched my jaw, muttered a oh shit, and then let go.
I hit the ground with a thud. The sudden jolt tearing through my ankles and raced along my legs. But I made it. I made it and…eww…gross…the place was rank.
Nero landed beside me and screwed his nose at the disgusting smell. “Rubbish. God humans are gross.” He reached out and grasped my hand. “Come on, when we get to the storm water it’ll pass.”
I let him lead me, along darkened tunnels filled with rodents and piles of trash and eventually the smell left.
“Does everyone know about these tunnels?”
He shrugged. “Those in the know.”
I pulled out the small flashlight in my pocket and switched it on, a bright orange beam lighting the way, bouncing over the brick walls. Without another word, we kept moving deeper and deeper. When we reached a fork in the path, Nero nudged right… of course, because it was darker and rank.
The passage slowly descended and the smell worsened, water splashed underfoot, and I didn’t want to know what we waded through.
Who knew how long we’d walked for, all we’d seen were brick walls, no signs of life or a sewer dweller. Maybe I’d been wrong to assume it would be that easy.
“What’s that?” Nero pointed at something ahead, and I froze, fear zipping up my spine.
When I waved the light about, the beam landed on pentacle marking on the wall. But what was that? I squinted. From our angle I could swear there was someone slumped on the ground, and a chill rushed up my spine.
We hurried closer, water splashing under our fast footsteps, my gaze locked on the figure. Whoever it was lay on their side, mostly covered by a cape, their head pointed in the opposite direction.
Nero’s breath sped at seeing the victim. Once we reached the figure, Nero leaned over the body, pulling back the hood.
I peered over Nero’s shoulder, iciness clawing into my chest as I stared down into a familiar face. It was the hunchback Vampire. He lay lifeless, blue faced, and smelling. How long had he been down here?
“Oh, shit! That’s him, the Vamp who came to my room in the middle of the night.”
“Looks like he’s dead, dead. Not Vampire dead.” He glanced over at me.
“I know what dead means.” But I couldn’t stop staring at the body, while Nero checked his body for any marks or injuries.
I wrapped my arms around my middle. Someone followed him all the way down here.
Someone who came here with one purpose.
And it looked like that purpose was to kill.
Chapter Ten
Rejection tastes like Dirt!
“It’s not right.” Nero stared at the markings on the wall above the Vamp’s body and stepped closer. “See that, the corner doesn’t touch the circle there.”
“So? There’s a dead Vampire!” I squinted. How in the Hell can he see that, anyway? Must be a Wolf thing.
“What do you mean, ‘so?’” He cut me a glare, but then smiled. “You really don’t understand magic at all, do you?”
I shook my head, but it seemed he did.
“If the corners don’t touch then there’s no spell. You need the power of all four; north, south, east, and west to call anything. It’s like Witching 101.”
I took a step toward the body of the creature and knelt beside him. “Well, whatever it was...it must have killed him, and it looks like a Witches mark to me.”
His boots scuffed behind me as Nero neared. My skin shivered as I rose in front of him and he slid his hand into mine. “I don’t think this was done by a witch. I’ll prove it to you, but the most important question is what did kill him.” He leaned closer and reached out, opening the creatures shirt, exposing pale skin and a skeletal body underneath.
“There’s no mark,” he murmured. “Not that I can see. I’m betting that we could search the Vampire from top to bottom and still not find a thing. Someone wants to us to believe this was done by a Witch, but this just feels too…sloppy, not like them at all.”
“How do you know?”
He turned his gaze toward me, blue eyes shone, even in the dark. “You trust me, right?” He came closer. “I want you to meet someone. Someone who’ll tell you straight up if Witches are involved one way or another.”
“Okay,” I murmured. “But first I need to message Chuck.”
I reached into my pocket and yanked my phone free. My fingers flew across the screen.
Mor: Dead Vamp Body in tunnels under the city. 245th Street. Take manhole in middle of street, watch out for rats.
I shoved my phone back into my pocket before taking Nero’s hand. We could be like any other couple, kicking rusted cans and scurrying rats out of the way as we made our way back to where the tunnel rose.
The sewer snaked around the part of the city, until it joined the storm drains with a deafening roar. Droplets of water splattered my cheek until Nero turned, gripped my waist and then heaved me into the air. I clutched the sides of the ladder, hooking a foot against the metal rung and then climbed, looking over my shoulder to see him hunker down and then lunge. Wolves sure made light work of being agile, and strong...and gorgeous for that matter.
It was lucky
Nero was with me...
He’d always been quieter than the other two, leaving his eyes to say all he needed to say. I’d caught him staring at me when he thought I wasn’t looking, and even though Judas had been the one to carry me from that abandoned church when I was hurt, both Bond and Nero were there, forging through beside us, making sure Judas raced me inside.
They were also the ones who got my ring back from the cat gang. For that I’d owe them my life. I reached overhead and shoved the iron grate against the street.
“Careful,” Nero murmured.
His hand skimmed my calf, and then my thigh, pushing the hemline of my skirt higher. His breath warm against my skin as he climbed, pressing me against the metal rows.
The juncture of his hips met the curve of my thigh. I stilled, closed my eyes and clamped my legs tight as my heart gave a pathetic thud, and heat followed, licking between my thighs.
Dear God, this was so not happening.
“Gotta be careful,” he murmured in my ear as he reached up, gripped the rim of the opening and then heaved his powerful frame upwards.
He made it seem so fucking easy, climbing through the hole to stand in the middle of the street overhead.
He smiled down at me, crouched and offered his hand. “Don’t want you to lose your head.”
Those words should not have been sexy. Nor should traipsing through muddied sewer water with rats and Hell knew what all around us.
But it was sexy, so help me to Hell and back, it was. I just smiled, swallowed hard and took his hand. He heaved me up through the hole and then slid the grate home.
He chuckled and shook his head.
“What?” I brushed cobwebs and dirt from my skirt, and eyed him.
“You acted like I asked for your hand in marriage.” He glanced at the cars tearing past us and then found my gaze. “You don’t have to be so guarded around me you know. I’d never do anything you didn’t want.”
My breath caught. I forced a smile. “I know that.”
But inside I was jumpy and nervous, watching him from the corner of my eye as he scanned the traffic and grabbed my hand once more. “Let’s go. It’s not too far from here.”