Taint of Shadow [Heart of Darkness #1]

by Cassandra Moore

  By the time she arrived at Moon Blessings on the typically busy, downtown Tacoma avenue, the crowds had thinned and most stores had closed their doors. Inside the shop, the incense burners no longer smoked, though the scent still lingered in the air. The door wasn't locked, but the neon Open sign had been turned off. A bell tinkled when she opened the door.

  The lights were still on. She didn't remove her sunglasses.

  "We're about to close, I'm afraid,” came a voice from behind one of the counters, friendly but firm. “We open back up at—"

  An older woman, crowned by a silver-shot mane of red hair, stood up, her words faltering as she stared at who had come in. A breathless pause caught in her throat, until at last she forced out one word. “Kayla?"

  "Hello, Moira. I guess I could come back tomorrow morning, when you're open..."

  "Don't you dare!” Moira laughed, a loud, boisterous sound that said just how happy this visit had made her. She rushed around the counter. “It's been too long already, phone calls or not. Here, just a minute."

  Kayla watched as her friend bustled to lock the door. Moira's tiny metaphysical shop hadn't changed at all over the years. How much time she'd spent here, Kayla didn't know, but the distinct smell of the incense soothed her, brought her back to something a lot like home. A place of calm, rest. A spiritual haven where even her battered soul could find peace.

  Moira hadn't changed much, either. She'd added a few more pounds, sported a few more gray hairs, but still had the same smiling Irish eyes and merry grin that Kayla had known for fifteen years. After the last year, this woman made her feel normal, sane.

  "How's it been?” Kayla asked as the woman pulled the metal security grate down from the ceiling.

  "Bad. But all things considered, not as bad as it could have been.” The latch on the grate clicked into the floor. “Fights broke out between the fangs and the fur after it all hit the fan, and we nearly had open violence. Come along."

  She followed the redhead into the back. “What stopped it?"

  Surplus incense, crystals, books, and other odd inventory items lined the metal shelves. Used to the clutter, the older woman wound her way through the stockroom to the back. “Peter got with Vincenzo Pirelli in secret one night. When they came out of the meeting, Peter told the pack to back off, watch and wait. He had to take one challenge that night, and three the next full moon. No one was happy, but he's the alpha, and eventually, everyone agreed that he had to have a reason."

  "Pirelli convinced him to call off the attacks? Was he tampered with?” The local vampire lord was known for smooth moves and manipulation.

  "I can guarantee he wasn't.” Moira reached up and pulled a rope to expose the attic's access stairway. “They met here."

  Kayla nodded. Moon Blessings was neutral ground, and Moira could guarantee a magical safe space. If they'd met here, the no-nonsense Irish woman would have made certain both sides played by the rules.

  It also spoke volumes for how bad the situation had gotten. Moira kept herself well out of the fray. That she'd let them come here to talk meant the situation had gotten very dire. “What did Pirelli say?"

  "You know I can't tell you that.” They walked up the stairs to the furnished upper space. Comfortable armchairs with high backs and rugs in rich colors decorated the small sitting area nearest the hatch. Behind it sat neat piles of wooden chests and crates that dominated the rest of the attic. The good stuff, Moira called the contents of those boxes. The things she only sold to the paranormal community.

  Kayla grunted. “What can you tell me?"

  "That his argument convinced even me. The coterie at large had nothing to do with the attack.” She gestured for Kayla to sit.

  Instead, she leaned over the back of the other chair, supported on her elbows. “That's not much of a surprise to me. What about now?"

  "Tense. Very tense. Pirelli may have convinced Peter that his crew had nothing to do with it, but biters are biters, and barkers are barkers, and never the twain shall agree.” She shrugged. “The alpha hasn't been open with the pack, so your friends are looking to bring someone down. Your alpha female is the loudest voice for it, against her mate's wishes."

  "And the vampires?"

  She snorted. “Doing what they do. They're using the hostilities to push for an end to the truce, an end to the moratorium on new progeny, more troublemaking, the usual. It's only Lord Pirelli and the alpha that are keeping things in line."

  Kayla took a deep breath, conflicted but unable to stop the next question. “What about Noah?"

  "He misses you.” Her answer was immediate. “He pushed for war harder than anyone, and almost got it, all by himself. He was the one who challenged Peter the night he met with Lord Pirelli.” She paused. “He almost won."

  It hit her like a blow to the gut. He'd fought for her, tried to take on a city full of vampires. I shouldn't have asked. Fuck. “I'm glad he didn't."

  "Me, too. It would have been a free-for-all.” Moira stared at her, hard. “You're going to see him, aren't you? Kayla, you have to see him."

  "I have to leave him out of it.” She shook her head. “He doesn't need to get involved with me again. Not now."

  "Why not? He loves you.” Her old friend leaned forward. “You can't come back here and not talk to him. That's not right."

  Warmth in the cold of her emotions hurt. He loves me. And that's why he can't know I'm here. Please, drop it; I don't want to think about it. “It's not right to take him where I have to go. He deserves a life and a future."

  The redhead narrowed her eyes. “He won't get either without you. Where the hell do you think you're going?"

  "Into the abyss. Where they dragged me."

  "You're going to break the fight wide open, aren't you?"

  Her hands clenched in front of her. “They started it a year ago. I'm just bringing it back to their front."

  Quiet stole over them, tense, full of unasked questions. “You can't do this. It's more than you. It's the pack. The city. The people in it. Get Peter involved. Or Sonja Carter. They can talk to Pirelli—"

  "I have to do this. You don't understand."

  Temper flared in the Irish woman's eyes. “You're damn right, I don't. You haven't said a word to help me understand. Take off your glasses and look at me!"

  Angry, riled, Kayla ripped the glasses off her face.

  Moira gasped. The color drained from her face. “God in Heaven ... What did they do to you?"

  "Made the monster that they thought they wanted. They were wrong.” The light from the pair of lamps burned. She squinted. “Bad enough that they did this to me, but they know how to do it to other people. They will do it to other people. I can't allow that."

  "What did they do? What happened that night?” Moira's voice was gentle. “Please. Tell me. Let me try to help you."

  Kayla shook her head. “I can't. It would compromise your neutrality. I've already said too much."

  She set her lips into a line. “Maybe it's time I took a side."

  "Whose side were you going to take? Biters? Wolves?"

  "Yours."

  Friendship, concern, and affection all gleamed in Moira's eyes. A year of hell had hardened Kayla's heart, but under that look, it began to soften. More than she ever had, she wanted to kneel down, put her head in the older woman's lap, and cry like a heartbroken child. Help me. Fix me. I'm so tired of the cold. I'm afraid of the dark.

  But she couldn't. Not yet. Maybe not ever. But definitely not before she'd finished what she had to do. Instead, she put her glasses back on her face. “Where is Paul Kiplinger?"

  "I'd be a rich woman if I knew that. Vincenzo Pirelli has put money on his head. He's a wanted man in this city. What, was he involved?"

  She clenched her teeth. “Miles and Mason Bristol still in town?"

  "Yes, but I don't know where they are, either. But...” She held up a hand to forestall Kayla's frown. “...I do know where a toady of theirs likes to get hookers to snack on. You could as
k him."

  "Do you suppose he'll tell me?"

  "That'll depend on how you ask, I think. He finds his girls by where the Rusty Nail used to be."

  Goal in sight, Kayla straightened. The worry in her friend's eyes was almost enough to undo her, but it was too hard to forget the sobs of an innocent woman, or the sound of a heart as it dropped into a jar. Or the lost lives—hers, that woman's, those of six others. “Do you have any stakes?"

  For a moment, Moira looked old. Laugh lines around her eyes seemed to deepen. The wrinkles from a million smiles became traces of twice as many frowns. “I don't ever want to get caught between the fangs and the fur,” she'd said once over glasses of iced tea. “I can't help anyone if I pick a side."

  "What help could you give a vampire?” Kayla had been surprised.

  "You'd be surprised,” she'd said but never elaborated. “Either way, each would play off me to get to the other. No, better that I stay out of it.” She'd looked sober. “Besides, what happens to a fly between the swatter and the wall?"

  And now Kayla asked her to violate that rule. Briefly, she felt guilty, even as she knew that the rivalry had taken a more sinister turn. Moira would not be safe from Kiplinger's crew. No one would be.

  The redhead stood and walked to a wooden crate. She lifted the lid to reveal a collection of sharp wooden stakes. “They're blessed,” she told Kayla. “Take as many as you need. I started stocking them last year. Just in case."

  She moved across the room and picked out half a dozen of the pointed rods. “Thanks, Moira."

  "I have plenty if you need more.” Green eyes fixed on her. “Revenge doesn't just hurt the people on the receiving end."

  "I can't hurt any more than I already do.” With a grim smile, she walked to the attic stairs then stopped. “One more thing."

  "Hmm?"

  "Is Todd still with the pack?"

  The older woman canted her head. “Of course. After you disappeared, he was a great friend to Noah."

  "I'll just bet.” She wanted to go after him. The betrayal still burned like acid in her heart. But his time would come. His death had a greater purpose to serve that went beyond her revenge. “I'll let myself out the back door."

  Moira watched her friend descend the stairs. A year ago, she'd seen a happy blonde woman out of her shop after a long talk about love, marriage, and what it meant for wolves to mate. That woman's bright, elated smile had lit the attic like sunshine, as had the obvious love she wore for the man she'd bond with when the moon rose high that evening.

  Now, a grim shadow of her friend walked away, tormented, haunted, alone. It made her heart sore to even ponder. Oh, child, don't walk into the night alone.

  The sound of the closing door sounded ominous, final. Not if I can help it. I can't go with you, girl, but I know someone that can. Without a second thought, she pulled the cell phone from her pocket and punched in a number.

  Ring. Ring. Ring. “Hello? Moira?"

  "Noah.” She took a deep breath. “You have to do something for me. I need you to go where I tell you to, and I need you to do it right now."

  "I'm about to go out right now, but if you can give me a couple hours—"

  "You don't have a couple hours. I need you to go now."

  "This is a little strange, Moira."

  "It's about Kayla."

  Shocked silence held the line. “What about Kayla?"

  She gave directions. “Go. Go right now."

  The phone went dead, but she knew he'd do as she asked.

  * * * *

  Noah flipped on the small lamp in the front room. It didn't shed a lot of light, just enough to show that someone lived here. Someone waited for his love to come home.

  He never left the apartment dark. If she was hurt or lonely, she could see the glow from the lamp and know she was still welcome here. Even after a year with no contact, he hoped she might come up the street and see the light, and that it would bring her back to him.

  From the table, the paper stared at him. Lease Renewal Notice read the large letters across the top. If you would like to stay with us another year, please sign and return this paper by the end of the month. As a thank you, we'll be glad to offer you a complimentary cleaning of the carpets in your home.

  Had a year really passed since they'd chosen this place together?

  "We can stay here a year, maybe two,” Kayla had said as she poked in the cupboards and checked the hot water heater. “Save up, and get a house with a view of the mountain. Have the pack over for barbecues."

  "They're wolves,” he'd said with a laugh. “We can just throw down slabs of beef and pour beer into dog bowls."

  She'd laughed with him and looked so beautiful. Another two weeks, and they'd be bound. If they signed the papers that day, it'd be just a few more days before he could chase her around the new place. They could break in those kitchen counters. They were the perfect height for her to sit on, her legs wrapped around him...

  Jaw clenched, he forced himself to break off the memory. She'd hardly gotten to live here, but somehow, it remained their place. The sofa she'd picked out still sat where she'd had Todd and him move it. Then they'd moved it three more times, until she decided that she liked the original place best. Her pictures. Her sock, kicked under the coffee table.

  Todd had seen the notice when it arrived the week before. “Noah, you can't stay here. You have to press forward. At least move to a new place so the past doesn't rub you raw."

  "What if she comes back? What if she comes here and I'm not here?” He'd been angry at his friend. Press forward? Leave Kayla behind?

  "She's not coming back.” Todd had looked him square in the eyes. “If she was coming back, she would have by now. It's just—It's just a matter of finding her body so you can have some closure, man."

  He had growled. “Then we go kill every last one of those undead sons of bitches until they cough it up."

  Todd held up his hands. “Look. Just give it some rational thought, okay? You still have the same cell number. If she's not—If she's looking, she can find you."

  "I'd know if you were dead, lover,” he said to the lamp. “I'd know."

  Todd and a few guys from the pack had talked him into drinks tonight. A good chance to get out, breathe, maybe relax. No talk about biters or fights, just sports, jobs, the human Bren refused to admit he'd fallen for. Even he had to agree that he didn't get out enough.

  He needed to strengthen his bond with the wolves. They'd kept him alive and sane when he'd wanted to die or lose his mind. Hours, days, they'd searched with him, turned the city upside-down, endangered themselves to shake down the fangs for any information they had. Friends, the best any man could ask for, closer than humans could imagine. Compatriots. Brothers.

  Yes, he needed to bond with them. Then, when he took Peter down, they would follow him without hesitation. Straight into hell, if he had any say in the matter.

  Disquiet, he stalked into the bathroom to ruffle his hair into shape. She liked it just this side of sloppy, tousled, wild. Instead he found himself staring at his reflection, the blue eyes that had turned hard and the lips that pressed into a firm line. He hadn't realized how he'd changed, but tonight, he could see what the others had told him.

  Peter had never failed them until last summer, when he'd let the biters off without retaliation. They'd attacked his mate, Kayla had never come back, and what had he done? Talked it over with the king of liars, the lord that watched over the leeches. Of course, he'd said they hadn't done it. He was afraid, and with reason.

  A weak alpha had to go.

  "I'm doing all that I can do,” Peter had said when Noah had lay bruised on the ground at his feet. “Don't suggest that I don't care again, or you'll shed blood for it. I care about every member of my pack, but you will not drag us into a war while I lead. If you kill another vampire, you'll face pack justice, by my word as alpha."

  If that was how he wanted to play, so be it.

  With a sigh, he splashed his f
ace with cold water. He didn't want leadership of the pack. But if Peter would do nothing, then he would take the power from him. The loss, the insult, was more than the pack could bear. He'd trained since the night the alpha had beaten him. When the full moon rose in two days, Peter would fall.

  The phone rang as he finished drying his face. Probably Todd checking on me, making sure I'm still coming. He trotted to the table to pick it up. He's worse than a grandmother.

  But the identification screen said Moira O'Rourke.

  "Hello? Moira?” What could she want? He hadn't talked to her in an age. Moon Blessings had become painful for him. Kayla had loved it.

  "Noah.” She took a deep breath, as if to steady herself. “You have to do something for me. I need you to go where I tell you to, and I need you to do it right now."

  Tension drew her voice thin. Something was up.

  "I'm about to go out right now, but if you can give me a couple hours—"

  "You don't have a couple hours. I need you to go now."

  "This is a little strange, Moira.” More than a little strange. Of course, Moira had lent her place to that unfortunate meeting. Was she setting him up?

  Moira wouldn't do that. She was just trying to keep the peace. I need to ease up ... Maybe they're right. I need to get past this.

  "It's about Kayla."

  Shock flooded him like a bolt from heaven. The name echoed in his ears. “What about Kayla?"

  She gave directions to a seedy street in a dangerous district. “Go. Go right now."

  Her tone told him more than her words could. Without a second thought, he snapped the phone closed then grabbed his keys as he dashed out the door.

  It's about Kayla. At last, someone's speaking my language.

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  Chapter Four

  Every city in the world has an area where no one who values their safety goes, especially after dark. Unattended cars become carrion, food for the vultures who want the cargo, the stereo, even the wheels. People not tough enough to fight back against three, four, or more become victims and statistics.