by Dannika Dark
“You shouldn’t eavesdrop.”
Christian’s laugh reverberated off the walls, and he quickly stopped. “Who do you think they were confessing to?”
I glared at him, keeping my voice low. “You’re supposed to be guarding the church, not working the confessional.”
He put his hands in his lap. “I got tired of people asking me questions, so I went in there for a moment of privacy. It’s a perverted job they have, listening to all those sins.”
“And you were willing to oblige.”
“To be sure.” He lowered the kneeler in front of us with his foot.
A rustle of clothing from behind made me turn my head. A woman rose from her seat, making the sign of the cross while pulling her purse strap over her shoulder. Her eyes locked on the back of Christian’s head, and a smile touched her lips as she left the church.
Something told me that Christian was the one who’d brought up sexual fantasies and fueled the conversations. He had a smoky voice that could make knees quiver.
“What exactly did they say to you?” I asked.
“Jaysus wept. If you only knew. Some of them just want to confess their dirtiest fantasies.”
After a long silence, I elbowed him. “And?”
“I listened to every explicit detail before giving them their penance.”
“What did the blonde with the red lipstick say?” I asked, jerking my thumb toward the back where the woman had been sitting.
He twisted his torso, his heated gaze melting me in my seat. “What’s revealed to me in that confessional is confidential. I’m merely the Lord’s instrument to listen.”
“You’re not an instrument. You’re a tool.”
Wyatt lumbered in, his hat askew and eyes half closed. He plopped down on the pew in front of us and grabbed the drink Christian handed him.
“Now I know what it feels like to get hit by lightning,” he said between sips. “My chest hair singed.”
I snorted. “What chest hair?”
“The chest hair I used to have before it was singed off.”
I sighed and stared up at the cross. “We’ll need a miracle to get the rest of these officials in. I had to talk a lot of them into cooperating, but something tells me Shepherd won’t be so nice.”
Niko came up the aisle behind us, his hand touching every bench he passed. When he found our row, he sat on the other side of Christian. “Another team’s having trouble,” he informed us. “So it’s not just the ones moving the Vampires. Viktor’s concerned we won’t be able to transport them all in the given time frame.”
I leaned forward, my arm resting on the bench in front of me. “What happens after twenty-four hours? It’s not like the world blows up.”
“The church doors lock. They can’t risk extending the time since every hour increases the likelihood of someone noticing what we’re doing. Churches have business hours and close up at night. What will that look like if our van is dropping people off every night? It’s dangerous to lead anyone here, so the fewer trips we make, the better.”
Christian kicked the kneeler back up. “Niko’s right. The priest is keeping the doors open today to throw off suspicion.”
“But what if the people downstairs start making noise?” I asked.
Christian handed Niko the drink. “Only humans come to this church. Besides, it’s farther down than you think. We’ve confiscated their phones, just in case someone gets the bright idea to blab their location to a friend.”
“What happens when the lights come on?”
Niko laced his fingers together. “That, we don’t know. The Regulators have abandoned their posts, and that doesn’t instill a lot of confidence for those who require their services.”
“Seems like gathering them all up in one place makes them a bigger target.”
“Churches are safe havens,” Niko explained. “Most criminals will honor those rules, or they’ll lose respect of those that follow them. But you’re right. I suppose Viktor will have us assemble here once we’ve finished transporting everyone. A well-guarded location is more impenetrable than a hundred unguarded ones. Strength also lies in numbers, and few will storm a church filled with fifty Vampires or Chitahs.”
I tugged on my earlobe. “Unless they have nothing to lose.”
Christian locked his fingers behind his head and gazed at the ceiling. “If that’s the case, we’re in for a long night.”
Chapter 15
After our shift, we drove back to Sacred Heart Church to wait for our team. Claude and Blue arrived together in his red Porsche, and Shepherd showed up a few minutes later in his metallic-grey Jeep. We brought them up to speed on the most efficient methods we’d employed to round up our list and warned them of the trust issues. Since Claude was a Chitah and his word was his bond, Niko suggested that he be the one to ring the bell and win their trust.
I would have loved to tag along with a bag of popcorn and watch Shepherd do all the talking, but I had other pressing matters on my mind.
Bone-tired, I shucked my coveralls and threw on my leather jacket. After Niko and Wyatt headed back to the mansion, I had a private conversation with Claude about my plan to visit the Overlord. He gave me a couple of addresses but had reservations about lending me his Porsche. I reminded him I wasn’t good driving a stick and would probably strip the gears on Shepherd’s Jeep, so he reluctantly handed over his keys, apparently deciding my visit to the Overlord was worth a shot. At this point, we were running out of options.
Before throwing myself at the mercy of a Chitah, I made a pit stop at Patrick’s place to pick up gloves and maybe a few toys for the kid. None of the clothing stores were open after dark, not that I wanted to go shopping when people around me might be having sex with the mannequins. Hopefully the madness would end tonight, but just in case it didn’t, I let Wyatt off the hook and volunteered to go.
I pounded my fist against Patrick’s door for the second time. “Hello? Anyone in there?”
The other team must have already picked him up, so I decided to check around back. The property looked uninhabited. No security, no lights, no personal guards, and no cars. Not wanting to draw attention, I’d parked down the street a ways and walked back. No wonder the higher authority put all these security measures in place. You couldn’t count on guards in a time of crisis. After all, they were just paid employees.
When I reached the back of the house, I noticed they hadn’t boarded up the hole blasted in the wall from the Valentine’s party. A large plastic sheet hung over it, debris littering the patio. I pulled the plastic away and ducked as I stepped inside.
“Hello? Mr. Bane? It’s Raven Black. If you’re still here, say something.”
No reply came, so I crossed the kitchen. The smell of charred flesh still lingered in the air even though the cleaners had cleared out the bodies.
“I’m coming in! Just in case you’re waiting around the corner… with a giant sword,” I ended in a murmur. I flared my energy so he’d feel my presence even if he was out of earshot. “Mr. Bane?”
The house offered no warmth or light. My Vampire eyes allowed me to navigate up the stairs to the second floor. None of the rooms looked like a kid’s room, so I kept searching until I wound up on the third floor. My night vision was good but not that good. I took a small flashlight that I’d found in Claude’s glove compartment out of my jacket and shined it into each room.
When I passed a room with a small bed, I halted in my tracks and went inside.
“Poor kid,” I said, shining the light around a room bereft of color. There was nothing whimsical about it. No painted walls, no pictures of animals, not even a cartoon bedspread. Just a bed, a dresser, and a small desk.
I rifled through the drawers and stuffed clothes inside my jacket, including a pair of mittens. We didn’t know how long the outage would last, and it didn’t seem right to have him wearing the same clothes for days on end. I got on my hands and knees to search for toys beneath the bed, but there were none. Pat
“What an asshole,” I said, finally getting up. “There better be a playroom.”
Out of curiosity, I searched the rest of the rooms on the floor, only to turn up nothing but storage rooms for furniture and paintings. When I reached the open balcony at the top of the staircase, memories of Patrick’s masquerade ball came flooding back. Even though it had all worked out, I still couldn’t shake the image of seeing his boy getting thrown over the banister. It occurred to me that he was around the same age as I was when I’d survived a fire and lost my mother. Kids should never have to experience that kind of terror. Their chief concerns should be which cartoon to watch or how high they can stack their blocks.
I tucked the flashlight in my coat pocket before approaching the center banister on the top balcony that joined the two staircases.
That kid would have died from this height had Shepherd not caught him. When I bent over to look down at the first level, a mitten sprang free from my jacket and dropped to the floor. Not wanting to lose anything else, I zipped my coat all the way to the top.
When the lock suddenly turned on the front door, I sucked in a sharp breath and backed up into the shadows.
“Come in,” a man said, but it wasn’t Patrick’s voice.
“Are you sure we’re alone?” The woman sounded uncertain. “Whose house is this?”
“The boss is away on business, and my companions have been instructed to stay away so that you and I can have privacy.”
I moved a little to the left to peer through the gaps in the banister. From my vantage point, I saw a husky man with short black hair. Their faces weren’t clear from my angle, so I watched as he attempted to take the woman’s coat.
“No,” she insisted. “It’s cold in here.”
“Very well.”
“Are you positive we’re alone?” She looked around, so I kept my light concealed in case she was a Mage. Luckily, neither of them was a Vampire or a Chitah, or else they would have sensed my presence.
“Worry not. We have this house to ourselves. Is my deceased friend with us?”
“No. After he gave me your information, we parted ways. It’s possible he moved on to the next life.”
“Let us go somewhere comfortable.”
“Keep in mind I won’t share any valuable details until I’m paid. Gravewalkers get stiffed all the time by the living, and your friend didn’t have any hidden money to speak of. He said you were the one who handled his finances.”
“He’s correct.”
“And just so you know, I always withhold additional information until I’m in a safe place. If everything goes smoothly, I’ll call you with the rest. Well, as long as the phones are working.”
As they moved out of sight, I tiptoed quietly down the stairs, thankful I’d chosen to wear sneakers instead of boots. Patrick had a grandiose double staircase on the main level that curved on both sides, joined by an upper balcony on the second floor. The open area below was spacious, and while it was usually empty during parties, Patrick had moved his statues and chairs back in.
Who the hell was coming into Patrick’s house with a Gravewalker?
When I reached the bottom of the staircase, hinges on a door squeaked. I flashed between the stairs and hid behind a large statue.
The man crossed my line of vision as he headed toward the other staircase, and after a few moments, he returned holding a candle. The light illuminated his face, and I recognized him as Cyrus—Niko’s nemesis.
I ducked out of sight when he suddenly stopped and looked my way. The black mitten on the marble floor had caught his attention, and I listened to the sound of his footsteps drawing nearer as he walked over to it. Ignoring my racing heart, I trained my focus on concealing every drop of my light. One energy leak, and I might as well tap-dance my way to the front door. Though I had a better shot at fighting him without his goons around, Niko’s grim warning made me reconsider any notion of fighting an ancient who was a master swordsman. This guy had assassinated his own Creator.
Oddly, we had something in common, as I wouldn’t have minded killing my own.
After a moment, I heard the soft pat of the mitten hitting the floor and Cyrus’s footsteps growing distant. I waited until he and his guest resumed talking. As I reached down and swiped the mitten off the floor, a small voice in my head suggested I eavesdrop. Was Cyrus working for Patrick? If so, Patrick had no idea what kind of man he was employing to guard him. Cyrus didn’t strike me as a man who took jobs in the kitchen, so that ruled everything out but guard or chauffeur. Either way, he had no business getting that close to a member of the higher authority.
I hauled ass out the door, not caring if they’d heard me leave. I had bigger fish to fry.
Niko shifted his balance, his full weight bearing down on his wrists. He was in a planche position, his body horizontal with the floor and only his hands holding him up. Because his body had to work harder to support his full weight and keep his feet off the ground, it strengthened his muscles in his arms and abs. These endurance exercises required skill and balance, and he went through a number of different positions to train his body and mind. He’d slept well the night before, so after returning home from his shift, Niko decided to work on muscle strengthening for a while.
It had been a rough day transporting officials to the church. Wyatt suffered a nasty gash on his leg while scaling a chain-link fence, so Niko had to use his Healer magic since Shepherd wasn’t around to patch him up. Jobs like these were especially frustrating for Niko since he couldn’t run or flash in public. He could follow energy trails with ease, but that didn’t eliminate obstacles like poles or curbs. So on chases, he helped Wyatt navigate the streets and then aided Raven in loading them into the van.
His thoughts drifted to what Wyatt had revealed to him on the way home. Plato, the ghost who’d been following Niko around, had gone along with them. Wyatt said the specter had pulled a vanishing act after the first drop-off at the church. He suggested something spooked the ghost but thought it worth mentioning since it was the first time that Plato had left the mansion.
This news troubled Niko. Plato wasn’t a religious man, so the church wouldn’t have sent him running. The only reason he was probably hanging around Niko was to get information on the book Niko was hiding, and Niko had taken great care not to reveal its location. So why would Plato leave the mansion, knowing he might never find his way back?
Unless while out, he found someone to convey a message to Cyrus. Maybe it was nothing, but Niko couldn’t stop thinking about all the possible scenarios. What if Plato had overheard information he thought might be useful as blackmail? What if there was a window somewhere in the mansion that was unlocked? What if he had somehow found that cursed book?
Niko heard the door open, and after a quick glimpse at the faded amethyst light, he lowered his legs and sat down. “Gem, what an unexpected surprise.”
“It’s dark in here.”
He chuckled. “I’ve been saying that for years.” When she didn’t laugh, he rose to his feet. “Apologies. Stay where you are, and I’ll get a lantern.”
Sighted people were helpless in the dark. He strode past the exercise equipment to where they kept a spare lantern and matches.
After lighting the candle inside, he closed the tiny door and latched it. “Does this help?”
“It’s spooky in here when the lights are out,” she said, her light floating like a ribbon to the center of the room. It lacked its usual shimmer, and he sensed she was still processing her grief.
Niko lifted the lantern and walked across the room. When he reached the thin mat, he set the lantern down at the edge and swept his hair out of his face. “Come join me.”
She strolled over, and he couldn’t quite read her emotions.
“Do you actually like working out?”
“Why do you enjoy swimming?”
“It calms me,” she said decidedly. “It’s peaceful, and I feel like I’m the only person in the world.”
“Positive sensations come in many forms. Working out creates temporary pain, but the effect is the same. Your body is an instrument. When I strengthen my muscles and meditate, I feel focused and confident.”
“I feel the same when I wear the right gemstones.”
“The crystals you collect harness energy, and it’s good to use them when your spirits are low. But don’t rely on them as a source of strength.”
Gem must have grabbed the climbing rope, because her energy swirled in a circle. Niko had learned to find joy in pain and persistence, but Gem relied on external things to make her feel good. Roller skating, gemstones, musicals, and even people.
“The body and the mind are connected,” he explained. “When the body is relaxed and playful, so is the mind. But when you strengthen your body, you also strengthen your mind.”
“I’m too little to be strong.”
He gave a small grin and walked toward her, gripping the rope between his hands. “A pebble can cause an avalanche. My sensei taught me valuable lessons on survival that have nothing to do with acquiring money. So much emphasis is put upon power and wealth to sustain.”
“Without money, we can’t eat. That’s why we have these jobs. We’re going to be alive for a long time, Niko. A long, long, long time.”
“Not unless you learn basic survival skills. Money won’t protect you from all the dangers in our world. Did your Creator impart any wisdom on you?”
Gem rarely spoke of her life before Keystone. They all cohabitated without any stipulations that they share the details of their past. That knowledge wasn’t required to determine who was competent or trustworthy. Those traits revealed themselves with each moment spent together, with each mission.
“She was the parent I never had,” Gem answered, her light pulsing. “She taught me how to use my Mage gifts and how to survive as a woman. My training didn’t require sit-ups.”
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