by C. M. Owens
But, unless I get someone to dust her memories, I won’t be getting that sort of taste. That’s fine. There are other ways to taste her.
My grin only grows at the thought of those other ways.
“Can I pick you up?” I repeat, twirling a lock of her soft, dark hair around my finger and giving it a tug.
“I don’t even know your last name.”
Oh shit. What name am I using right now? It’s hard to keep up with. Unlike some of the ones from our group, I change mine regularly to stay under the radar.
“Jameson,” I say at last, hoping that’s the right one. If it’s not, it’ll be the name I take while I’m here.
“Thad Jameson. Nice name. Mine is Porter, by the way,” she says, smiling that sweet shy smile of hers.
“And mine is Thompson,” the roommate says. She’s persistent, I’ll give her that.
“What time will I be picking you up?” I ask Roslyn, still ignoring the other girl.
“Um… whatever time you want,” she says unsurely.
And score. I knew she’d eventually cave. I’m irresistible.
“Then I’ll be here around ten. Unless that’s too late. But honestly the party won’t get going good until at least eleven. Never does.”
Please don’t let her say that’ll be too late. I have to do scout duty until then.
She bites that damn bottom lip of hers that I fully intend on sucking later, and she gives me a quick nod of acceptance.
“Any chance I can steal you away from your girlfriend for the party?” the roommate asks Gage from behind me, and Roslyn bites back a smile while shaking her head.
“You can try.” Kimber’s voice has my eyes snapping up, and I cough on a laugh when I see her leaning against the doorjamb, her eyes alight with mild amusement. The roommate is in for an ass kicking if she pisses off Kimber.
The roommate scrambles away from Gage who is covering his smile with his hand, and her jaw drops when she sees the immortal beauty standing at the entryway.
“Am I interrupting?” Kimber drawls, mocking Gage with her eyes and her tone.
He reaches her in just a few strides, and he doesn’t waste time with useless words. Instead, he makes a statement by kissing the hell out of her. Rolling my eyes, I turn back to Roslyn.
“I’ll see you sooner than later, considering I’m the boy next door.”
She smiles at me even though she’s trying not to. Got her.
“We need to go. I tried calling both of you, but your phones are apparently not working,” Kimber says.
Shit. Work. Too much work and nowhere nearly enough play. I just got Roslyn warmed up to me.
Gage and I both check our phones, but I have no missed calls or texts.
“Signal in here is bad,” Roslyn says, her eyes still on my bare chest. I’ll never wear a shirt again if she keeps staring like that.
The sun is already setting, and I unfortunately do my best work at night. So that means I actually need to leave.
“Then let’s go,” I say on a reluctant breath that has Kimber giving me an I-don’t-care-that-I’m-cock-blocking-you look.
Then I turn to Roslyn, and I make sure to give her the smile she seems to love the most. “Soon, Roslyn.”
She blushes again, and I follow everyone out. I’d better get to see her before the party. I’ll be pissed if I don’t.
Chapter 5
THAD
“Good thing I have an iron stomach,” I say as I kneel in front of a very mutilated body.
Hell, there’s barely any meat left on the bones.
“That’s not the worst part,” Kimber announces. “This is one of us.”
I look around the woods, listening for the slightest creak or crack, making sure we’re alone. When not even the wind dares to make a sound, I look up at Kimber.
“How can you possibly know that?” I ask her.
Once upon a time, Kimber could see into the soul of a person and know what sort of fey they truly were. But that was before she was used to open the gates of purgatory. It fucked her up because she was way too young to tap into that sort of power. Instead of killing her, it drained her. Slowly, she became a shell of her once powerful self.
“Because I told her,” Karma says, stepping around the trees, making herself visible. Karma is a rarity because she can actually tell when someone is immortal. “I’ve sent pictures of both to Alyssa already. There’s another body in the thicker set of woods that spans for miles and miles. It looks a lot freakier than the one in front of you.”
Suddenly, Chaz appears, dropping a body down beside the mutilated one, and I take in the black veins and shock-white skin. What the fucking hell is that?
“What could have done that?” I ask, gesturing to the new body.
“I’m way younger than you,” Chaz reminds me with a shrug. “If you’ve never seen it, then what makes you think I have?”
Good point. My gaze instead shifts to Gage. He’s been around longer than me.
“No clue,” he answers to my questioning eyes. “We can contact the councils. Maybe someone will know something.”
“What were they?” I ask Karma, not bothering to acknowledge the bullshit councils. They all have their own agenda, even though Alyssa tried to rectify that. No one likes the fact we have a queen. Well, no one but our group.
“Well, I think the mauled one was a night stalker, but there’s something wrong with him. I have to stare into their eyes to see what they are, and usually something as simple as a night stalker is clear, but this one’s eyes… The soul that left made one of the darkest stains I’ve ever seen. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever dealt with anything so empty—it’s… Well, what I do is hard to explain.”
Frowning, I lean over and sniff the body. It’d be a hell of a lot easier if I could smell fey. I can only smell them when they’re in changed form—a lot of good that does any of us. But it’s the way we’ve evolved—always the hidden predator and never the stalked prey.
“All I can tell you is that whatever did this is female,” I say, sniffing the body once more. “And a very young female.”
“Figures,” Dice scoffs, walking up behind Karma. “Only a woman could be crazy enough to be this vicious. Hashtag—women be cold.”
Karma elbows him in the stomach, and he coughs in pain while she smirks. “You’re merely proving my point, woman!” he yells in an outraged whisper, glaring at her.
“Weres, lycans… any type of shifting creature could have done this.” Kimber sounds more like she’s thinking aloud than actually piecing together this mystery.
“Our own kind can’t sustain themselves off immortal blood—even though we get our rocks off on it in the bedroom. And why is this night stalker as dark as Karma says?” I ask.
Kimber rolls her eyes at part of my comment, though I can’t imagine why. It’s true—well, she doesn’t get to enjoy that fringe benefit, since she’s with a dark user. No blood play for the sweet gatekeeper and her dark user boyfriend.
“This seems personal,” Dice says, pointing to the mauling. “Why else would anyone be this brutal?”
“They could be out of control,” Chaz says insightfully.
“They’d have to be incredibly strong to take down a night stalker, and Thad just said the female who did it is young.” Gage sounds as confused as all of us.
No young were-creature, changer, or lycan could take down even a new night stalker.
“Gage Saber,” a voice says just as a body materializes, and I look up at the blonde-haired light user that I haven’t seen in a while.
“Frankie,” Gage says with a small smile. “Long time.”
Frankie was like Alyssa’s uncle her entire life—one of the few people allowed to know she was Drackus’s daughter before she got more powerful than him. What the hell is he doing in Pine Shore?
“It’s actually Kross now. I ditched Saber a while back,” Gage tells him, as if this is the best time in the world for catching up. “I thought you were in
Egypt and tracking down leads to where the ancient purgatory scrolls might be.”
“Two dead bodies could use your attention when you girls finish getting reacquainted,” I remind them.
Frankie snorts a laugh at me. “Are you jealous? I was planning on speaking to you, too.”
I can’t help but laugh lightly, then his face gets serious. “I met a stone wall, dead end on the scrolls. Alyssa had me come back here. As soon as I arrived, she told me of the lovelies here you’ve found. I saw the pictures you sent her, and this isn’t good.”
I forgot that Frankie is even older than Gage.
“What’re we hunting for?” I ask him.
He kneels beside the pale body with black veins. “It’s not what you’re hunting for; it’s what’s hunting for you. This is from an anointed. Looks like there’s a slayer in Pine Shore.”
Motherfucker.
“You’re sure?” I ask, hoping he’s going to say no.
Luck and me do not get along, because he nods instead of giving me an ounce of hope.
“Great,” Dice groans. “Hashtag—Buffy’s back from the dead. Again.”
Groans come from all around, directed at the ill-timed incubus. He shrugs, looking as careless as usual. He only takes shit serious when the danger finds us face-to-face.
“How?” Karma asks, studying the body carefully.
“They have weapons,” Frankie answers.
“No,” Dice says in objection. “I’ve used their weapons. It doesn’t do this to bodies.”
“It only does this in the hands of an anointed,” Frankie clarifies, announcing the horrifying truth that we know very fucking little about these beings. “With an anointed weapon in their hands, the sting turns to poison. That’s why there are so many hand-to-hand combat weapons. The arrows won’t do this—unless they’re holding them, of course. They keep the weapon buried deep, holding it in place until the prey is killed by the poison. It’s paralyzing, painful, brutal, and not at all a pleasant way to go.”
I drop back onto my haunches, still studying both bodies. An anointed didn’t kill this mauled one.
“How can they know it’s us?” Karma asks him, doing better with handling herself around strangers these days.
“That, my dear, is the scariest part. Some of the old families had medallions they wore. It showed an anointed—and only an anointed—what truly hid beneath the beauty. If the weapons have been reactivated, then so have the medallions. Apparently one family held onto all of their ancient heirlooms. Then again, maybe this guy just displayed his true self. We need to have our guard up.”
The predator becomes the prey. I completely understand the logic in tossing that shit into purgatory. I’m not good with being hunted.
“My guard is always up,” Karma says under her breath.
“What about this guy?” I ask, motioning toward the mauled one. “Young female did this, but I don’t know how. Karma says he was a night stalker.”
He frowns as he looks it over. “It’d have to be one seriously strong shifter of some sort. I can’t explain a young female doing this.”
“Unless it was the werewolf/witch hybrid that Reese is looking for,” Kimber says, her eyes meeting mine. “We have no idea how strong someone like that could be. Karma is a demon/human hybrid that is stronger than a regular demon because she can possess immortals.”
Frankie’s brow furrows as though he wasn’t aware of that.
“That’s because I’m still part of the breathing plane,” Karma explains. “Demons are nasty, vicious souls that have been reborn in hell’s plane. They can’t escape as easily as one of us, because they’re bound there. If they do manage to escape, they struggle to find a host weak enough to completely consume, whereas I am firmly grounded here and can move between immortals—strong or weak.”
Losing interest in their conversation, I continue studying the immortal that is mangled beyond recognition. No matter what Alyssa says, if that thing did this, we’re definitely taking it down. It’s hunting immortals, and so is this anointed one. Now we have two damn things hunting us.
I really don’t like this.
“Things are getting more screwed up by the damn minute,” Frankie says while running a hand through his hair.
I stand and step back as Gage steps forward. “We need to get rid of these before someone else stumbles upon us.”
In a blink, the bodies are on fire, quickly burning under the immortally charged flames that are contained by Gage’s power. I’m glad Roslyn agreed to let me pick her up. I’ll be watching her house until we find the thing that mauled that guy. At least she’ll be safe from the anointed, since she’s human.
“We need to call Reese,” Gage says, looking around. “So let’s get back to the house. I think Alyssa and Kane will want to be in on this conversation.”
***
THAD
“I really don’t give a fuck what you want to keep quiet, Reese.” Kane growls at the monitor that is holding Reese’s snarling face.
“I’ve already told you that this is pack business. The girl belongs to us. If she’s there, then I’m coming. But I’m not telling you a damn thing about her.”
“She’s not part of your pack yet, Reese. She can’t choose that life until she’s immortal,” Kane says through clenched teeth. “And the last time I fucking checked, I was the one with higher authority. Tell me what the fuck you know, or I’ll come to you. But as for Pine Shore, I have enough to worry about here without dealing with you and your pack. Keep your ass in Kingston.”
Reese looks like he could spit fire right now, and he swallows—well, chokes on—his pride as he straightens his shoulders and resigns himself to defeat.
“I don’t know her name. I barely got to see her before she was whisked off. She was a shaking, terrified, dirty mess when she got here, and she wouldn’t speak to or look at anyone. I called a friend to see if she had any contact with strong witches, one that was close by, and she said she’d send someone to help calm the girl down. We couldn’t get close without her throwing us back. She’s strong—damn strong. Her werewolf powers amplify her witch powers.”
Just fucking great. “I’m assuming that means her witch powers also amplify her werewolf powers,” Kane says, sounding a little calmer now that he has Reese’s submission.
“I haven’t witnessed that myself. The girl is still most likely mortal. Imagine what will happen if I don’t find her before she turns immortal. Her strength will double, and I’m not sure what the hell is going on.”
Of course he doesn’t. Because God forbid we get some helpful information out of him.
“How did she get away from you?” Kane asks, suspicion in his tone. “And why did she want to?”
Reese grinds his jaw, and he leans back in his chair as he stares at us through the monitor.
“She was a mess—as I said—and she freaked out at the slightest movement. We called the witch to calm her down, but apparently she got her out of there and set her loose after the girl wrote down everything she could remember about the slave rings. The girl is a danger and a threat to all of us. I was merely keeping her for everyone’s safety.”
Holding her against her will would have only scared the living shit out of her, and it would have made her even more aggressive toward everyone.
“Who was the witch?” I ask, stepping up to the monitor so that Reese can see me.
He really doesn’t want to tell, and his eyes flick to Kane briefly before he concedes. “She told me her name was Jaden, but I haven’t been able to locate her. I only found her through Liza Berlow—a bitch, but a trusted succubus. She says she has no idea where the witch has gone.”
Everyone exchanges a subtle glance, and Dice mutters a curse under his breath. Sadie. That’s who it really was. There was never a Jaden.
“What?” Reese asks, suddenly acting a little nervous. “You know Liza?”
Sadie is the only witch I’ve ever known to be able to change her face for extended periods
of time without a problem. I can’t even hold a different face for longer than a few hours. But she has gone months while wearing another’s face.
Fooling Reese with a false face and false name would be child’s play for her.
“We’ll keep you updated if we should find anything,” Kane lies, flicking the monitor off and turning to face Dice.
“Already calling her,” Dice says, pulling his phone up to his ear as he waits for his mother to answer. “Voicemail,” he continues, cursing.
Kane turns toward Gage, his eyes shifting from him to Kimber, and he finally says, “I doubt it’s a coincidence that Sadie is yet again in our lives. Don’t leave her side.”
Kimber scowls at him. “I can take care of myself.”
It’s odd to see him looking so paternal, considering he actually looks the exact same age. Most people would see a couple of twenty-year-olds arguing like father and daughter.
“Don’t make me call Drackus,” Kane says with a small smile.
Gage covers his own grin with his hand when Kimber threatens Kane—an empty threat she couldn’t ever truly make good on. After all, he’s a creature god, and she’s a visionless visionary. She does, however, have badass gatekeeping skills.
“I’ve sent my own boyfriend to hell before,” she growls, still glaring at him. “Don’t think I won’t send you.”
Okay, now that’s a threat she might make good on. Kane ignores her, however, and focuses on the rest of us. But before he can say anything, Karma appears with Deke and Zee.
“Found two more bodies that were mauled like that other one,” Zee says. Karma puffs out in a weird smoky cloud like a demon hybrid again, and within seconds, the marred bodies appear on the basement floor when she puffs back in.
“These are older,” Frankie says. “They’ve been rotting in the woods. Damn. We really need to find this girl.”