by Cane, Laken
Lucy was losing it.
“We’ll have a meal ready in half an hour,” my mother said, when I finally got up and wandered into the kitchen.
“I’ll get cleaned up,” I said. My stomach growled ferociously, but no one laughed. There was too much weighing on our minds.
The mayor called as I was getting out of the shower. “Can you be here at ten? I’ve got everything set up. I’ve had announcements going out to TV, the Internet, radio stations…nearly everyone in the city will be tuning in.”
“I’ll be there,” I promised. “And I’ll bring some people.”
“You needn’t call Rick,” he said. “He’ll be here by the time you arrive. Can I send a car for you?”
“No, I’ll drive over. Are we doing this outside?”
“Absolutely. I’m not inviting vampires into my house, not even if you’re likely to kill them.”
“Outside is better,” I assured him. I was hoping Avis would show herself. So was the mayor. She was going to be watching for information, so chances were, she’d be aware.
“Dress like you mean it, Kait,” he said, before hanging up.
I knew what that meant. He wanted me to go into full badass mode for the cameras. I could do that. For the first time in a while, I pulled my vampire kit out and opened it up, checking to see that everything was inside and that I didn’t need to replace anything.
When I walked into the kitchen, Joe, Max, and Zach were already there, happily eating up all the food my mother and Lucy had prepared. “Damn, guys,” I complained. “I was only gone for twenty minutes.”
“I saved you a plate,” Lucy said, jumping up to grab a foil covered plate from the oven. It weighed about five pounds, so mollified, I took it and looked around for a place to sit.
Zach offered me his chair. “I’m finished anyway. The only one of you who eats less than me is Max.”
“Hey,” Lucy said, pausing with a chicken leg halfway to her mouth. “I don’t eat more than Max.”
“Where’s my mother?” I asked, sitting in Zach’s vacated chair. Ash immediately left Joe’s side to come sit closer to me. He sat on his haunches and stared at me, waiting to see if any food would jump off my plate and into his mouth.
“She left with the wolves who escorted us here,” Lucy told me. “She said to tell you to call her after your meeting with the mayor. She has something important you need to talk about.”
I nodded. My mother had changed somewhat since we’d gotten a pack. It was important for a wolf, and she didn’t want to lose that. She knew that as an alpha, I wasn’t going to be Jared’s wolf, not really. Maybe she believed I might try to fight him for the position. I’d reassure her that would never happen. I might be alpha, but I was certainly not the type to want to head a pack or wreck the one I belonged to. A wolf alpha was too restricted, too wrapped up in pack politics, too overwhelmed and shackled with the responsibility of dozens of people. I shuddered. No, that wasn’t me.
“Max,” I said, happy beyond words that we were all together in my house again. “I want the people to see you, but if by some chance we get lucky and the rogues come—”
“I will be standing closest to the door,” he said, licking a smudge of cake icing off his finger, “and if a bunch of vampires appear, I’ll jump into Lucy’s arms and she’ll run us both to safety.”
All of us laughed but Joe. “I’ll be there,” he growled. “If Avis shows, I’ll make sure you get to safety before anything happens to you.” Then, he added, “And Lucy, of course.”
Lucy giggled, and I was glad to see she had thrown off her cloak of despair and seemed to be back to her normal bubbly self. “Thank you, Joe.”
“I hope Avis shows,” Zach said. He briefly touched the hilt of his blade, then crossed his arms and stared into the distance.
He may have wanted her more than I did, but if I got to her first, I was going to take care of business.
Finally, it was time to go.
We took Ash with us. With everyone gone, I was worried Sam the serial killer might break into my apartment, and I certainly didn’t want Ash there alone if that happened. I could leave him in the mayor’s house with people watching over him.
The gates were closed at the end of the mayor’s driveway, but two guards were there to open them for us. We wouldn’t want humans there tonight. It wouldn’t be safe. A couple of police cars sat outside the gates, and I thought about telling them they should either go home or come inside where they’d be better protected, but in the end I decided to mention it to Rick and let him handle it.
Reporters were waiting on folding chairs, their cameramen standing patiently, and a couple dozen suited security guys stood watchfully around the area. They didn’t try to hide their holstered guns or stakes, some wood, some metal. A couple of them had large crucifixes on silver chains around their necks, and one guy smelled so strongly of garlic that I gagged.
The mayor wasn’t outside, but Rick stood talking with two of the guards, and he watched me as I climbed from my car. Lucy and Zach were with me, and Max had ridden with Joe.
I turned when a loud black car sped up the driveway and a few seconds later, Remy Simon climbed from the vehicle. He was dressed the way the humans would expect a hunter to dress—in all black and dripping with silver blades. Remy was a good-looking man, but a person didn’t have to look hard to see the cold killer in his stare. He was eager for what the night might bring.
He wasn’t the only one. There were a couple of officers who strutted around the area with bright eyes and barely suppressed grins, their fingers eagerly brushing their weapons as they searched the shadows, hoping for something to kill. They weren’t terrified of their new world. They were excited by it.
Had any of the security present tonight actually fought and killed a vampire? No. The rogues were too good to get caught by humans.
At least by most of the humans. My stare flitted from Remy to Zach, both humans, both hunters, both dangerous. They would give the vampire rogues some trouble. And there was another human who could fight a vampire, as well, especially after his abduction. Rick finished his conversation with the guards and stood off a little to himself, watchful and silent, ready for anything. He’d changed since the vampires had gotten their fangs into him.
I hoped he would never remember what he’d done while under Axton’s control, but I was nearly certain that in time, he would. I couldn’t guess what he’d do then.
When Louis came out into the courtyard, followed by four of his security team, I immediately took Ash’s leash and went to meet him. “Can he hang out inside?” I asked him.
“Absolutely.” He bent down to scratch Ash’s head. “Noah will love him.” He gestured and one of the guards came to take Ash inside. “Do you think the vampires will show up?” he asked me, as we watched Ash trotting away.
“Yeah,” I replied. “I do.”
“Wonderful,” he said. “I don’t want to just tell the people of Jakeston you’re able to protect them. I want to show them.”
“If they come,” I told him, grimly, “get inside with your family. Don’t hesitate, no matter what. Okay?”
He took a deep breath, and it shook a little when he released it. “Okay, Kait Silver.” He straightened his shoulders and took another deep breath. “Can we get started?”
But as we walked toward the reporters, another car arrived.
Jared.
And for the first time since I’d arrived, something eased inside me. “Yes,” I murmured. “Now we can get started.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“There’s coffee inside,” Lucy whispered, as we waited for the mayor to situate himself behind the small lectern. “Do you want me to grab you a cup?”
I started to reply when the mayor put his mouth to the microphone and called my name. There was a feeling of déjà vu as I remembered my agreement to work for the council, and I wondered if my agreement to give myself publicly to the city would cause me more trouble than it was wort
h.
I’d kill vampire rogues whether the council or the mayor told me to or not. Apparently, they just liked to make things official. On the plus side, they could throw cash and other resources at me whenever I needed them.
As I joined the mayor, Jared, Rick, Joe, Zach, and Remy spread out around me, Max, and Lucy, walking us to the tiny, impromptu “stage.” Six of Jared’s wolves—including Wyatt and Avery—stood back by their alpha’s car, ready to attack should the vampires arrive. I hoped none of them would get overly excited and shift but with adrenaline pumping and chaos surrounding them, it would be hard not to.
I stood at the mayor’s side, my people surrounding me, and I knew how they’d look on TV. Larger than life, scary, and as mean as any of the vampires. Wearing countless weapons and dark frowns, they’d be sure to give the humans some confidence.
Only one of the people I’d asked to join us hadn’t. Bastien Martel, current master of our county.
“Let me present Ms. Kaitlyn Silver,” the mayor said. “Some of you have heard of her. I would bet that some of you have availed yourselves of her unique services.”
“What does she do, Mayor?” one of the reporters asked.
“She’s a human who has been fighting the evil of this city long before any of us even knew such evil existed.” Louis’s regard for me was obvious, but he would never tell them the real reason for it. “She protects us from not only invading demons and lost spirits, but the vampires who are even now attacking our city.”
I was about as uncomfortable as I could get. Then I glanced at Remy, and he mockingly saluted me just as the mayor called me “human.” And then I was about as uncomfortable as I could get.
Bastard.
I’d dressed a little over the top, as we all had, wearing black leather and tall—but low heeled—boots, a long, thin duster coat, beneath which I’d donned very nearly every belt I owned. I crisscrossed them across my chest and buckled them low on my hips, then filled them with silver blades, bottles of holy water, spirit traps, sharp stakes, and my demon blade. I’d considered leaving the blade at home, but in the end, I found I really didn’t want to part with it.
It wasn’t like I’d be shifting with all those human eyes on me.
“Before I step aside, allow me to introduce Kait’s team,” Louis said. And one by one he pointed out each person who stood with me, surprising me. He probably knew a hell of a lot more about all of us than I’d realized.
“I’ll step back and let Kait speak,” he said when he’d finished, and some of his security team escorted him, Max, and Lucy away. I watched approvingly as Louis murmured something and then Max took Lucy’s arm and the two of them went inside the house. Louis stayed just outside the doors. Finally, I put my attention on the cameras and began speaking to the people of Jakeston.
“There are things you can do to keep yourselves safe,” I started, not wasting any time. “As you know, vampires can’t come out into the sun…” No way was I explaining to them about Avis Vine’s particular magic or the fact that she and her rogues could do a hell of a lot more than any vampire should be able to do. “When it begins to get dark, go into your homes, lock your doors and windows, and don’t open them for any reason until morning.”
And then, despite the fact that it went against my hunter instincts, I told them that not all vampires were bad vampires. “Some of you already know this,” I said calmly, interrupting half a dozen reporters all asking questions at once. “Some of you go to their clubs. You understand that they won’t hurt you, because you’ve gotten to know them. The vampires attacking our city and our world are rogues. Their council sends people like me to kill them, and in the end, we will win. We will kill them.”
“How do we know if they’re the rogues or not?” a young woman asked.
“You don’t,” I told her. “Not yet. Once we’ve handled the rogues, then…” I shrugged. “You can go back to living with the vampires the same way you’ve been living with them for decades. You didn’t know they were here, but they’ve been here all along. And you’re still alive.”
“They’re murdering humans,” another female reporter said. “Why haven’t you killed them yet, if you’re so…powerful?” She was condescending and skeptical, and she didn’t care if I knew it.
I curled my lip. “Because I can’t snap my fingers and make all the rogues line up for a nice juicy stake and a beheading. Hunting takes time.”
“We don’t have time,” she snapped. “So you might want to stop posing in front of cameras and get to work. If you—”
“Look,” I said, interrupting her and turning to the cameras. “These rogues are no different from human killers. The police are right now trying to hunt down a human serial killer. There are bad vampires, just like there are bad humans. But not all vampires are bad. Over the next few weeks, I’d like to introduce you to some of my friends who happen to be vampires.” Yes, I stumbled over the word “friends,” but not too badly. “I will introduce you to the vampire master of this county. He is the one who keeps his vampires in line. And when he gets the rogues, he will make them wish they’d never fucked with the humans.”
I told them about the council, as well. I talked until my voice was hoarse and my throat was raw. I answered questions, dealt with anger and snark without punching anybody, and finally, I gestured for Remy to take my place. He could ease tensions and charm the reporters a hell of a lot easier than I could. I walked away from the little knot of people to stand further in the shadows, and the detective broke away to follow me.
He handed me a bottle of water. “I don’t think they’re coming,” he murmured. “Maybe it’s too well-lit back here.”
It was terribly bright, but still, those lights weren’t the sun. “It’s not the lights.” I gulped the water down and then crushed the empty container. “She’s not stupid. She knows why we held this meeting after dark. And Avis Vine does not want to give us anything we want.”
“We’d have been better off spending this time hunting,” Zach said, coming to join us.
“No,” the detective told him. “The people needed to see you. They needed to know they have people like you fighting for them.”
Zach corrected him, surprising me. “People like us,” he said.
I nodded. He wasn’t wrong. The detective was one of us. But he couldn’t physically fight like we could, and his vulnerability worried me. “You’re one of us,” I said. “You protect this city against the bad guys. But you’ll be killed if they attack and you fight, Rick. If they come…”
His smile was somewhat dry. “I know my limitations. I’ll get Louis to safety, and I’ll protect him and this household. It’s the job he has asked me to do, and that’s the job I will do—at least until I get a supply of silver bullets.”
I couldn’t hide my relief. I looked up when the reporters laughed at something Remy said, and my gaze drifted immediately to Jared. As though he felt my regard, he turned his head slightly and looked at me, and so much heat sizzled inside me I was sure everyone close to me would feel it. Abruptly overheated, I shoved the crushed bottle into my coat pocket and then shrugged the coat off, though that did little to cool me off.
Jared’s lips twitched even as his stare sharpened, gleaming and savage, and I could not turn away from the blue fire of his alpha wolf’s eyes. My own wolf responded, fierce and feral, ready to forget the vampires and do something a lot more fun than wait for a fight that might never come.
There wasn’t a sign of the wound that had nearly killed him, but I knew he wouldn’t forget how close he’d come to death. Neither of us would.
I was so wrapped up in him that I started toward him, and maybe I’d have pulled him away right there in front of everybody and let him slam me up against a wall deep in the shadows, but that was the moment Avis Vine decided to attack.
Oh, she didn’t personally come—she wasn’t ready for the endgame just yet—but she sent vampires, and she sent something worse. Demon-filled humans.
Shit.
The reporters scattered and the security team flew into action, pulling stakes and blades, some of them fumbling with their guns before they realized they couldn’t use them. They’d only shoot each other, and their bullets weren’t going to hurt a vampire anyway. But old habits died hard and thinking calmly under such pressure was difficult for even the ones who’d been fighting the supernatural for a long time.
One of the reporters—the woman who’d seemed so contemptuous earlier—stood with her cameraman against the brick wall surrounding the yard, talking excitedly. She wasn’t about to leave, though both of them had to be terrified. Their need to get the story was bigger than their fear.
I left the vampires to the others, and I went after the demons. I had the demon blade, and I was the only one there who could extract the demons without killing their hosts. And sticking that blade into the demons gave me an almost orgasmic satisfaction. I didn’t just wield the blade—I was part of it. It was part of me.
When the humans were down, empty of demons, I turned on the vampires. I was full of energy, bloodlust, and exhilaration, and I was full of crazy. I felt like I could have taken them all on by myself and won. Maybe I was wrong, but my wolf and I, we would always have a hell of a time trying.
It was like every time I went into a battle, I came out a little less…human.
Still, I worried about my friends, even now. Rick had raced away to protect the mayor, but he didn’t go inside himself, damn him. Not at first. He’d meant to, I was sure, but he ended up helping reporters and cameramen to the safety of the house. He did go inside, finally, leaving me and the wolves to fight the intruders.