She said nothing. Instead, she looked me up and down and jammed those creepy little fingers in my brain like she did the first time we met. “Got a lot of ginger in there, don’t you? A lot of Maeve Kelley, too.” She continued feeling her way around my head, siphoning my thoughts like a thief. “You got something else in there, too. Something not so pretty. But I guess that’s to be expected.”
“Get out of my head,” I whispered.
She was right. She knew exactly who I was, and I hated that she could see me so clearly without earning that privilege.
“They’re coming for you. I wouldn’t burn too many bridges, if I were you,” she warned.
“Who is it now?” I asked. “More dogs? Because I already took care of the first pair that tried that. I don’t think they’re coming back.”
A look of genuine surprise spread over her face, and I knew that didn’t happen very often. “You don’t even know, do you?”
“Know what?”
She hesitated before continuing, elevating the anticipation as I waited to find out who was next in line to come for me. I thought I’d seen it all, at least the worst of it. But the look she gave me told me I was in for something very different. Maybe I was overreacting—I hoped so.
“The dark ones.” Her chilly grin flattened. “And they won’t stop, Alex. They’ll put every one of their warriors on the line until they have you. They’ll sacrifice every…last…one.”
Her warning left me with a dull ache in the center of my forehead. I’d already had a really bad day and it wasn’t even noon. I just wanted her to leave.
“You’re going to need your family, Alex. And when you do—”
“And we’re related how?” I interrupted. “I don’t think you ever clarified that.”
Her pupils dilated wildly as her chest expanded from a massive intake of air. “By blood!” she spat, stomping down the aisle toward me.
“Everything all right over here?” Katie appeared where Lumen had just been standing, the baseball paperweight from the front desk in her right hand. She tossed it up in the air and caught it on its way back down, a warning to the petite tyrant stalking toward her friend.
“We’re good, Katie. She was just leaving.”
Lumen smiled at me with about as much family affection as a rodent consuming her own young. “When the shit hits the fan,” she sneered, leaning closer, “I’ll be waiting.”
TWO
I’d like to say I was fine, but the conversation with Lumen stuck in my head as disturbingly as those pigeons. Even with my new skills, I was no match for an army she referred to as warriors. I’d spent the next few hours ambling around the shop in a funk, returning books to the wrong sections and jumping every time the front door sounded. Katie knew I was shaken by the encounter, and probably got tired of following behind me to make sure I didn’t rearrange the entire shop. With the caveat that I had to tell her everything the next day, she’d pushed me toward the door and told me to go home.
I headed over to Crusades instead to find Greer and get some clarification on what these dark ones were. When I walked through the door, Thomas was at the bar lining up rows of clean glasses and checking the booze stock for the night. He put his clipboard down and waved me over.
“Thomas,” I said as I planted myself on one of the barstools, “would you think less of me if I asked you for a shot of Lagavulin in the middle of the afternoon?”
“Not if I can join you.” He poured two shots of the single malt and handed one to me. I downed it and asked for another.
“Slow down, sugar. I assume you’re here to see Greer?”
“I am.”
He glanced at the bottle. “Then you might want to go easy on that stuff.”
Thomas was well acquainted with my temper, and he knew how volatile Greer and I could be when we butted heads. A powwow with the boss was best had with full control of my faculties, and a belly full of Scotch would do nothing but leave me with the disadvantage.
“Boss.” Thomas nodded as Greer came down the stairs.
Greer looked at the bottle on the bar and then turned his attention to me. Seeing me in the middle of the day meant there was a problem. He knew it. Thomas knew it. The walls knew it.
“Something happened this morning.” I did my best to sound casual, but Greer had this annoying talent for cutting through bullshit and sniffing out the truth. He was a living lie detector.
He read my face and then turned to go back up the stairs. I followed him to the mezzanine. He preferred the open space of the VIP room so he could pace the expansive floor while being given undesirable news. I preferred it too, because it put more space between us when I was the one giving it.
He pulled his seat up to mine and sat facing me, silently waiting for me to lead the discussion. No third degree or inquisition, just an open invitation to speak freely.
I decided to get the easy stuff out of the way first. “I was attacked on my way to the shop.”
He looked me up and down. “You look fine to me.”
“By pigeons. They just came out of nowhere and tried to scalp me.” His expression remained flat and I could just smell his agitation. “Okay, they didn’t actually touch me because this invisible barrier was wrapped around me. They just kept bouncing off of it, breaking their little necks. It was really sad, Greer.”
He stared at me silently while I described the barrier in detail and how the birds kept crashing into it. As I spoke, his eyes wandered around the space above my head as if he could see it.
“A shield,” he finally explained. “A spontaneous shield. They’re extremely rare. But then, so are you. Were you able to control it, throw it up at will?”
“Uh…no. I didn’t even know I had one until it was there. It just…sprang up out of the blue.”
“That’s usually how they work. Triggered by a spike of fear.” He looked at me suspiciously. “And you said pigeons attacked you?”
“Have you ever had a bunch of pigeons dive-bomb your head, Greer? It’s pretty damn traumatic. I’ve seen The Birds. With Tippi Hedren?”
“Well, you may never see another one of those shields again. But if you do, I need to know about it. It may come in handy.”
“You mean I might be able to control it?”
“It’s not unheard of,” he said with a shrug. “It’s just difficult for people to control them.”
“You’ll be the first to know,” I said, preparing for the good part. “Are you ready for the rest?”
His eyes shut as he rubbed his forehead, “There’s more?”
“Lumen paid me a visit this morning.”
I expected him to explode, but he remained curiously quiet. Strange, considering her reputation for being a special envoy to my people. At least that’s the impression I got from him the last time she showed up.
“What the hell is a dark one?
He froze and looked at me like I’d just crossed some forbidden line. It wasn’t easy to surprise Greer Sinclair, but the mention of those two words seemed to do the trick. “Where did you hear that?” he asked a little too softly for my comfort.
“She came to the bookstore. She just waltzed in and told me they were coming for me. And by the way, were you planning to tell me she’s part of my family? Is it true?”
As if on cue, he got up and started wearing out the floor. “Word for word, Alex. I need to know exactly what she said.”
I told him everything, down to the last detail of Katie coming to my rescue. That part got a laugh.
“I like your friend Katie.”
He walked to the enormous window that stretched from one end of the club to the other, his hands in the pockets of his pants, and I could see his jaw working in conjunction with the thoughts running through his mind. The last few months had been stressful for everyone, and lines were beginning to form on his handsome face, though they would eventually smooth out and recede. Greer would look the same a hundred years from now. When my body was old and crumbling, his would loo
k the same.
He looked back at me from over his shoulder, and I got up and stood next to him at the window. “I need to know what I’m dealing with, Greer.”
He sighed heavily. “Do you remember our conversation the night you moved into the house?”
I remembered it well, only I’d hardly say I moved in. Greer made that decision for me and pretty much transferred me like a prisoner from Crusades to his brownstone on the Upper West Side. That was the night I found out Ava was still alive, and I’d been lied to for years by the one person I trusted the most. Greer and I spent that evening dancing around my questions, and to this day I have no idea what he is. But I know what he isn’t, and for now that’s good enough.
“I remember you avoiding most of my questions,” I said.
“Do you remember what I told you about the Rogues? The attack in the park?” His jaw tightened as his eyes focused on something across the club.
Thomas was behind the bar, wiping the inside of a glass while his eyes stared back at Greer’s. I could feel a storm coming. Greer and Thomas were like two parallel charged wires working together to kept the hurricane turning.
“And?” I persisted. The small, innocuous word must have pushed his red button.
“Fuck!” he roared.
Thomas’ thoughts must have synced with Greer’s, because he sent the glass in his hand sailing against the far wall of the club.
Greer stormed out of the room and took the stairs three at a time to the main level. I looked back through the window as he reached the bar and barked an order at Thomas. I couldn’t hear what he said, but Thomas nodded once and took off through the back door.
Greer’s fist came down on the bar, sending a small quake through the building as he looked up at me through the glass. He was about to come back for me, and there was something in his eyes that told me I needed to get out of that room before he did.
I headed for the room on the third floor, the one where I’d slept before moving into the big house. I slammed the door and engaged the flimsy lock. A sheet of wood with hinges wouldn’t stop him, but it bought me a few minutes to think and try to figure out what was happening. To my knowledge, I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I knew that look—the one that said you are so fucked.
His shoes pounded the floor as he came down the hall, making me eye the window with a stupid thought.
“Don’t make me break the door, Alex.”
“You’re scaring me, Greer!”
“Five seconds,” he warned, and as a man of his word, the door blew through the useless lock and swung open with a loud crack.
We drove in silence. Something very bad was happening, and I knew there’d be plenty of discussion once we got to the house.
Sophia looked at me strangely as we walked through the door, a question mark suspended behind her expression. I was relieved to see Rhom sitting on the sofa and then Leda coming out of the kitchen with a drink in her hand.
“It’s for you, dear. You’re going to need it.” She handed me the glass.
“For the love of God, will someone please tell me what’s going on?”
“Rogues. The dark ones are Rogues,” Greer announced matter-of-factly. “You’re officially on lockdown.”
Ah, I thought. Now I see what all the fuss is about. The night he moved me into his house, he told me about them. The man who’d tried to rape me in Central Park was a Rogue, and now they were coming for me. I guess they were after the amulet, too. Why not? Everyone else was. But so far, I’d managed to hold my own with all of them. It was still around my neck, wasn’t it?
“No one’s locking me anywhere. And why does everyone keep handing me alcohol every time I get bad news?” I handed the drink back to Leda. “If I want a drink, I’ll ask for one.”
“Don’t be temperamental, Alex. We’re just trying to make this easier for you.” Leda was just being herself—pragmatic to the core.
“You know I love you, Leda, but stop talking to me like I haven’t earned my stripes. I think I’ve demonstrated what I’m capable of when someone pisses me off.” I looked at Greer. “Haven’t I?”
“A wolf is nothing compared to a Rogue,” Rhom said.
“He’s right, Alex.” Leda looked at me sympathetically. “Think Greer with a mean streak.”
I snorted.
“Well, maybe that’s a bad example,” she countered. “Think Rhom with an evil side.”
Rhom had never been anything but kind to me, but I imagined him capable of some pretty bad things. The thought of him lacking a moral compass was downright frightening.
“I have a job, Greer. I can’t just disappear.”
“Not anymore,” he declared as if I had no say in it.
“Oh yeah? Watch me walk out that door.”
“Go. Everyone out.” No one questioned the command. He looked at me as I fell into line to leave with everyone else. “Not you.”
When the room cleared, he took my hand and led me to the sofa. “Sit down, Alex.”
I sank into the cushion and stared at the painting on the opposite wall. I was tired of defending my right to be set free from the glass dome he was always trying to keep me under. My powers were getting stronger, but even that wasn’t enough to convince him that I was capable of taking care of myself. True, my power had a mind of its own and only manifested out of fear, but that’s when it mattered—right?
“If it’s a fight you’re looking for, Alex, forget it. I won’t debate my decision to do whatever it takes to keep you safe.” He took my chin and turned my face up to his. “I won’t.”
“Then teach me. Teach me how to control it. We can take as much time as we need, but you’ve got to let me live my life, Greer.”
We were deadlocked. Either we compromised, or I had to leave. He knew I’d do it. One morning I’d just be gone.
“If we do this,” he looked at me pointedly, “we do it my way.”
“Deal. One thing, though.” I cut him off before he could open his mouth to argue. “I’m not quitting my job.”
I’d convinced Greer to give me one more day to try to salvage my job before he cut me off from the world. Shakespeare’s Library was my refuge, and it was the only job I’d ever actually liked.
“Can you give me an hour?” I asked Rhom.
“You take as much time as you need, Alex. I’ll be waiting right here.”
I reached for the door and gave him a weak smile. “You always know exactly what I need.”
“Alex,” he called out before I disappeared into the shop. “I’d do the same thing if I were in Greer’s shoes.”
I nodded and walked inside, swallowing the bitter pill of acquiescence.
“Morning, sunshine,” Katie greeted while eyeing the Starbucks cups I was holding. “Is this your way of distracting from the elephant in the kitchen?” We usually went for the cheap stuff across the street, but today seemed like a good day to splurge.
“I think it got a little cold.” I handed her one of the cups.
“You ready to tell me what’s going on?” she asked, taking it.
The shop was empty, so it was as good a time as any to see if Katie Bishop would still be my friend after I told her the truth. I grabbed an extra stool and sat with her behind the counter.
“You know that guy I live with? Well, he’s not just some guy.”
“They never are,” she muttered around a sip of lukewarm coffee.
I decided to approach the conversation from a different angle. “You were right about the woman who came in here yesterday. She’s a witch.”
She grinned. “I knew there was a reason I like you so much. You’ve got that…vibe.”
“I have a vibe?”
“Yeah. I was just thinking the other day: Alex is in the broom closet. Let me guess.” She tapped her finger against her chin. “Gardnerian?”
“I don’t think you understand, Katie.”
“Not Dianic.” Her face twisted like she’d eaten something bitter. “Please don’t tell me
you’re Dianic.”
“I don’t know what any of those things are,” I said, “but I am a witch. I’m just not the kind you think I am.”
She lifted off the stool and headed for the stack of books on the library table. “Alex, come on. Either tell me or don’t, but cut the bullshit. God, I hate being placated.”
“I can kill things with my eyes,” I blurted out. “Well, that’s how it starts. This blue light shoots out of my eyes.”
Katie looked up from the books she was stacking and waited for my next preposterous comment.
“My mother was murdered here—twenty-one years ago. That’s why I came back. That’s how I met Greer.” I’d mentioned him a few times but gave few details on our living arrangements. I described him like you would a roommate, and left it at that.
Katie walked back to the counter, giving me a sympathetic smile as she cupped the curve of my forearm. “And the birthmark?” She was the one who found it buried under my hair. But a girl can only take so much, and even though she never asked questions because she was smart enough to know that I wasn’t ready to answer them yet, it was only a matter of time before she did.
“It’s the sign of the Oracle.” There, I said it. “We all thought my mother was the Oracle, but it’s me.” I reached inside of my shirt and pulled out the amulet. “This is what everyone wants. It’s the key.”
“Key to what?”
My shoulders sagged at the thought of it. “To everything.”
I dumped it all on the table: my disappearance after my mother’s murder, the attack in Central Park, the prophecy. I even told her about Arthur Richmond, leaving out the part about how I killed him, because I thought it might be a little too much, too soon.
Katie reached for the amulet.
I jerked back involuntarily. “No!”
“I just wanted to look at it, Alex. Jeez.”
“If you touch it, you’re a target,” I warned. “Believe me, Katie. You don’t want that.”
The Blood Thief (The Fitheach Trilogy Book 2) Page 2